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For various reasons, I have been very much caught up in the Essentials builds since they came out. I like the simplicity and flexibility of Essentials characters, and love the way that many of them (Thief, Scout, Slayer) emphasize movement. But I got thinking last night about one of my old...

4e Controller powers can be used in many different ways, but two of the main combat tactics are: 1. Isolate and Kill: Make it so a creature cannot easily escape or defend itself, using Slow, Immobilize, Daze, knock prone, powers that reduce its defenses, or powers that keep it from shifting...

Okay, I'm a big fan of the Essentials builds, but this is irritating. I really want to take Trap Master (MP2, Rogue Utility 16, at-will minor action to make a Thievery check). But there doesn't seem to be a way for a Thief to take it. Both of the high-level Thief utilities (16 and 22) are...

Let's say a 29th level Knight or Slayer has the feats Superior Will and Martial Resolve (descriptions below) in addition to the class feature Spirit of War. Is the result multiple "extra" saving throws, or is there just one? Example: At start of turn the Knight is Stunned, Dazed and taking...

Let's say I create a campaign where characters are allowed early (but limited) access to Paragon and Epic Tier feats. For example, a level 1 Elf starts with the usual Heroic Tier feat, but also gets to take one Paragon feat and one Epic feat, for a total of 3 feats at level 1. A Human would...

When a PC has at-will attacks that have optional add-on effects, which effects can be applied when the PC is dominated? For example, let's take an Epic Tier Knight who uses the Defend the Line stance with a hammer, and has the feats Hammer Shock, World Serpent's Grasp, and Overwhelming Impact...

As some of you may have been able to infer from my previous posts, I am a big fan of the Essentials Warpriest. But as I waiver between making my next character a Warpriest or a Knight, I find that I keep getting stuck on the issue of ease of play. While the Essentials Knight is very easy to...

I'm developing a Knight concept that includes the following: - Dwarf with speed 5 - Stalwart Knight - speed +Con mod (+4) on first turn of encounter - Defend the Line stance -- slow until EoNT on hit - Defender of the Wild (MC Warden) -- 1/enc free action mark each adjacent enemy until EoNT -...

What can a Warpriest do to get a decent ranged attack? With no ranged powers, the Warpriest can only attack at range with an RBA; but with neither Str nor Dex as a secondary ability score, the RBA will probably just miss, and won't do much damage even if it hits. This presents a problem when...

My Swordmage just received a Pennant Helm, which gives a benefit to "each ally who can see you". I'd like to compile a list of conditions that would prevent an ally from seeing me, and those that would not, even though they seem kind of related. Please chime in if I missed something. Prevents...

Gentle Repose quintuples the time a creature can be dead and still be affected by "Raise Dead or a similar ritual". By RAW, the Resurrection power (Warpriest Utility) would not count because it is not a ritual. But I think it only makes sense to allow it, as the power is clearly intended to be...

The feat Cunning Stalker (HotFK) is ambiguously worded. "You gain combat advantage against enemies that have no creatures adjacent to them other than you." I believe it can be used at range, but suspect that many would interpret this as meaning that you must actually be adjacent to the enemy...

If you use an Opportunity Action to make a Melee Basic Attack, does that make the attack an Opportunity Attack? I ask because over on the WotC community boards they seem to think that the attack granted by the Knight feature Battle Guardian cannot be enhanced by feats that enhance Opportunity...

I'd like to interrupt our regularly scheduled discussion of changes to DDI to return to the roots of 4e, and specifically the Player's Handbook. By now, you have all had time to play a few thousand PCs, and you have probably noticed a few trends. I thought it would be interesting to explore...

Below is an armchair expert's guide to the Rogue's Tricks that an Essentials Thief has exclusive access to. They are listed from best at the top to worst at the bottom. Because I haven't used them in an actual encounter, I welcome anyone who has done so to step in and offer suggestions...

So after spending a week slavering over the Essentials Thief and Knight, I finally got around to looking carefully at the Warpriest. It took a bit, but finally I spotted something a bit odd... I can't find anything in HotFL that says Warpriests lose low level encounter and daily powers when...

The Swordmage Daily 19 power "Bane Blade" requires that you select a "creature type": animate, beast, humanoid or magical beast. We seem to get a lot of undead in our campaigns, so I decided to look up "zombie" in the online Compendium to see what type they are. Well, it's just confusing. The...

Okay. So I have a Swordmage who has been on the shelf for six months while we played other campaigns, but now it's time to dust her off and play her again. Reviewing her abilities in Character Builder, I notice with horror that Heavy Blade Expertise is not being applied to her Implement powers...

I got my copy of HotFL last night and have a few questions and observations. First, three questions: 1. I could have sworn that I saw some preview material about an Essentials feat that gave a +1 bonus to speed, but it isn't in the book. Did I dream it? 2. I'm confused about Essentials...

One of the big problems a lot of people seem to have with the recent update to the Magic Missile spell is that the range has been reduced from 20 to 10, removing one if its few unique characteristics. So it occurred to me -- should ranged, non-weapon attacks (spells, prayers, etc.) have a short...