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General Tabletop Discussion
D&D Older Editions
4E combat and powers: How to keep the baby and not the bathwater?
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<blockquote data-quote="DEFCON 1" data-source="post: 5855614" data-attributes="member: 7006"><p>Well, let's take a look at some of the kinds of things that 4E gives as possible offensive melee abilities 'at-will' (made generic). These are all things that occur one or more times on the various melee class lists. I'll use the most-well known or a generic name for the ability, and the damage listed assumes that attack hit.</p><p></p><p>basic attack: 1[W] + MOD damage</p><p></p><p>charge: Move your speed then 1[W] + MOD</p><p>bull rush: Move your speed then Push 1</p><p>grab: Immobilize</p><p>double mod: 1[W] + MOD damage + MOD damage</p><p>cleave: 1[W] + MOD damage and MOD damage to an adjacent target</p><p>reaping: 1[W] + MOD damage and MOD damage on a miss</p><p>shield bash: 1[W] + MOD damage and Push 1</p><p>deft: Move 2 squares then 1[W] + MOD damage</p><p>piercing: Attack NAD then 1[W] + MOD damage</p><p>careful: Attack +2 then 1[W] + MOD damage</p><p>nimble: Shift 1 then 1[W] + MOD damage</p><p>pack tactics: Ally Shift 1 then 1[W] + MOD damage</p><p>lure: Shift 1 and Enemy Slide 1 then 1[W] + MOD damage</p><p>dual: 1[W] damage then 1[W]damage</p><p>recup: 1[W] + MOD damage and gain MOD temp HP</p><p>guiding: 1[W] + MOD damage and enemy takes -2 to defense</p><p>knockdown: MOD damage then knock prone</p><p></p><p>These are pretty much your typical 'at-will' abilities within 4E, and can be modified in various ways... for instance by giving the bonus to another character, or by getting a second bonus if you accept an additional penalty like granting combat advantage.</p><p></p><p>Basically... at-wills will give you 1[W] plus 2 MODS worth of additional damage, weapon damage plus shifting/sliding yourself/allies/enemies 1 square, small bonuses to attack rolls (via straight bonus or attacking non-AC defenses), and small ally buffs or enemy debuffs.</p><p></p><p>These could all easily be made into an open list that ANY melee character could use... but presumably they were assigned to individual classes to just make those classes different from each other. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing is up to the individual player.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="DEFCON 1, post: 5855614, member: 7006"] Well, let's take a look at some of the kinds of things that 4E gives as possible offensive melee abilities 'at-will' (made generic). These are all things that occur one or more times on the various melee class lists. I'll use the most-well known or a generic name for the ability, and the damage listed assumes that attack hit. basic attack: 1[W] + MOD damage charge: Move your speed then 1[W] + MOD bull rush: Move your speed then Push 1 grab: Immobilize double mod: 1[W] + MOD damage + MOD damage cleave: 1[W] + MOD damage and MOD damage to an adjacent target reaping: 1[W] + MOD damage and MOD damage on a miss shield bash: 1[W] + MOD damage and Push 1 deft: Move 2 squares then 1[W] + MOD damage piercing: Attack NAD then 1[W] + MOD damage careful: Attack +2 then 1[W] + MOD damage nimble: Shift 1 then 1[W] + MOD damage pack tactics: Ally Shift 1 then 1[W] + MOD damage lure: Shift 1 and Enemy Slide 1 then 1[W] + MOD damage dual: 1[W] damage then 1[W]damage recup: 1[W] + MOD damage and gain MOD temp HP guiding: 1[W] + MOD damage and enemy takes -2 to defense knockdown: MOD damage then knock prone These are pretty much your typical 'at-will' abilities within 4E, and can be modified in various ways... for instance by giving the bonus to another character, or by getting a second bonus if you accept an additional penalty like granting combat advantage. Basically... at-wills will give you 1[W] plus 2 MODS worth of additional damage, weapon damage plus shifting/sliding yourself/allies/enemies 1 square, small bonuses to attack rolls (via straight bonus or attacking non-AC defenses), and small ally buffs or enemy debuffs. These could all easily be made into an open list that ANY melee character could use... but presumably they were assigned to individual classes to just make those classes different from each other. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing is up to the individual player. [/QUOTE]
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4E combat and powers: How to keep the baby and not the bathwater?
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