Battlemind: Blurred step

Virindi · Mar 21, 2010

Battlemind Blurred Step: PHB 3 launch party this came up. Foulspawn Mangler marked by the Combat cranium (Battlemind) used this power:

Foulspawn Mangler- Dagger Dance (standard, encounter; recharges when first bloodied)

Weapon
The foulspawn mangler makes 4 bone dagger attacks and shifts 1 square after each attack..

the mangler adjacnet to the seeker and the battlemind attacked the seeker then shifted to make its next attack against the Battlemind, then wanted to shift again to attack another pc. The battlemind had not used his Mind Spike power, instead he used this power:

Blurred Step

You bend reality with the power of your mind, flashing across the space between you and your enemy.
At-Will

Psionic
Opportunity Action Personal
Trigger: An adjacent enemy marked by you shifts
Effect: You shift 1 square.

It's an opportunity action which interrupts the trigger being a shift. Does this mean the battlemind moves into the square the mangler was going to shift into before the mangler does?
It seemed cool to block the road of the mangler but we were not sure if Blurred step happens after the enemy shifts out or before it shifted into the square?

Obryn · Mar 21, 2010

Virindi said:
It's an opportunity action which interrupts the trigger being a shift. Does this mean the battlemind moves into the square the mangler was going to shift into before the mangler does?
It seemed cool to block the road of the mangler but we were not sure if Blurred step happens after the enemy shifts out or before it shifted into the square?

Honestly, Blurred Step is broken as-is. Either the Designers forgot how Opportunity Actions work, or intentionally made the class pretty weak.

(1) IMO, it shouldn't be an opportunity action. Ideally, for a reasonable Defender, it should enable opportunity actions. As it stands, the Battlemind can shift to follow an enemy who shifts away from them, and then ... do nothing as that enemy charges one of their allies.

(2) As an opportunity action, it's an interrupt, which is 10 kinds of ridiculous, timing-wise.

Should it matter - and I don't think it will - I'm houseruling it for my own game, until WotC releases (imo inevitable) errata for it. It's going to be a triggered free action that the Warhead can take once per opponent's turn.

-O

Mengu · Mar 21, 2010

Obryn said:
(1) IMO, it shouldn't be an opportunity action. Ideally, for a reasonable Defender, it should enable opportunity actions. As it stands, the Battlemind can shift to follow an enemy who shifts away from them, and then ... do nothing as that enemy charges one of their allies.

Not to mention, when an enemy that's on a diagonally adjacent square shifts diagonally away, there is no way for the fightbrain to shift adjacent to him, giving the enemy essentially freedom to do whatever they want.

Obryn said:
Should it matter - and I don't think it will - I'm houseruling it for my own game, until WotC releases (imo inevitable) errata for it. It's going to be a triggered free action that the Warhead can take once per opponent's turn.

Agreed. This way blurred step can happen after the enemy's shift, and leave the opportunity action available.

Flipguarder · Mar 21, 2010

This is my solution to blurred step for the time being

1. Blurred step is a free action
2. battle minds have a feat exactly like "sudden roots" for the Warden. Balanced around the fact they need to take another feat to work with opportunity attacks effectively.

RyvenCedrylle · Mar 21, 2010

The trick with the Battlemind, to the best of my understanding (admittedly I haven't actually played one yet) is that it's Defending by sheepdog instead of by flypaper.

Rather than most Defenders who punish in response to a 'bad decision,' the Battlemind is intended to force suboptimal decisions by blocking the optimal decisions. In other words, the Fighter's Combat Challenge might stop the enemy from getting away and attacking anyone. The Battlemind will stop you from hitting the Rogue with impunity, instead forcing you to go charge the Sorcerer or something. The Battlemind works best when it's near its allies, as opposed to the Fighter or Paladin who do their best work when the party is way far away. Mind Spike is then often a threat, not an actuality.

I really like the Blurred Step as it's written for flavor. Feels very precognitive.

Destil · Mar 21, 2010

Obryn said:
Should it matter - and I don't think it will - I'm houseruling it for my own game, until WotC releases (imo inevitable) errata for it. It's going to be a triggered free action that the Warhead can take once per opponent's turn.

This is the most reasonable fix, though shift+charge is pretty metagamey (I sure as hell wouldn't use it every chance I got as a DM).

Though I also wouldn't mind seeing them get the ability to make two opportunity actions per turn somehow. But that's more likely something on par with a paragon or epic feat, and this is a problem that should be fixed in heroic.

Obryn · Mar 22, 2010

Destil said:
Though I also wouldn't mind seeing them get the ability to make two opportunity actions per turn somehow. But that's more likely something on par with a paragon or epic feat, and this is a problem that should be fixed in heroic.

I would actually love that as a class feature. It would be very flavorful; the kind of kick this class needs.

Still doesn't solve the timing issue, but cool nonetheless!

-O

Destil · Mar 22, 2010

I was sort of hoping we were missing a general 'combat reflexes' sort of feat in the PHB3 from the previews. Ah, well..

Mr. Teapot · Mar 23, 2010

The more I look at Blurred Step, the less I think the timing is a mistake or an accident. Everyone seems to assume BS is for pursuing an enemy trying to get away. If you instead think about the Battlemind trying to get between the enemy and your allies, then interrupting the movement can ruin the enemy's entire plan. In the OP's example, the battlemind could us BS to ruin the enemy's entire encounter power attack action with a well timed use of the power, preventing something in the range of 4d4+8d6+12 damage. (If the Mangler tries to move into a specific space, and the Battlemind shifts there before the enemy can get there, the entire action is wasted.)

I'm planning on replacing my Warlord with a Battlemind soon, and have been watching battles thinking about when I would use BS, and have often found times where using it would disrupt an enemy's actions and cause them lots of problems. Maybe not every round, but a lot of the time. (My Battlemind will have the Mark of Passage to shift 2 squares with it, which increases its utility a lot, but that's another story.)

The Weregamer · Mar 23, 2010

Mr. Teapot said:
The more I look at Blurred Step, the less I think the timing is a mistake or an accident.

I quite agree with this statement. In my estimation, the Battlemind is a preemptive defender. That's why it's key that Blurred Step happen before the enemy moves. You don't chase him and hit him; you get in his way and mess up his plans.

This raises a question for me: if the marked enemy declares a shift, then the Battlemind uses Blurred Step to move into the square the enemy wanted to enter, does the enemy lose its move action? Seems like it should.

Battlemind: Blurred step

Virindi

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Obryn

Hero

Mengu

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Flipguarder

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RyvenCedrylle

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Destil

Explorer

Obryn

Hero

Destil

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Mr. Teapot

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The Weregamer

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