A number of (mostly unconnected) rules questions

[Runestar]

While I suppose that it is not impossible for you to set it up such that the rogue is able to sneak attack every round, it may not be feasible for him to stand toe to toe with the enemy in order to benefit from this. since he would generally lack the tanking capabilities/staying power of a well-built defender.

This means that while you certainly could stick around to SA every round, it might be more prudent to deal damage in bursts - spring forward, strike for a lot of damage, then retreat to safety before the enemy has a chance to retaliate.

Perhaps this is what the designers intended - a conscientious tradeoff between your hp and that of the foe's.

 

[Goumindong]

Is this really how Rogues are intended to play - Sneak Attack almost every round?

If we assume that Rogues, Rangers, and Warlocks have all had their quarry, sneak, curse damage normalized against each other it is reasonable to assume that a Rogue will be applying his sneak attack about 1/2 the time in the heroic tier, 2/3rds the time in the paragon and 3/5th in the Epic.

Which, when looking at their powerr seems fairly reasonable. The rogue will get a lot more opportunities to create combat advantage in later levels, but the ranger gets a lot more attacks/round(and so is less likely to miss), and the warlock can attack any defense easier(and so is less likely to miss).

I would say yea, a Rogue is going to be looking to sneak attack every round.

5 - Is a PC allowed to simply grab another PC and Pull or Push them? (Ie, can a PC push an immobilized ally out of danger?) Is it a Grab check and what's the modifier for the target being willing?

Might want to use the DM's friend "+2". Bull Rushing a friendly for a push is a legitimate action and so would grabbing.

There are powers that do this, but they typically also do other cool things. There isn't really much wrong with letting this happen if the PC making the push/pull is expending a standard action to do so.

Rest have been satisfactorily answered imo.

 

[MyISPHatesENWorld]

Is this really how Rogues are intended to play - Sneak Attack almost every round?

That will hopefully be clarified once the designers weigh in on some of those Stealth arguments.

"The game's math assumes that the rogue gets sneak attack with just about every attack he makes. If the rogues in your game are constantly gaining combat advantage, it really isn't a big deal." - Mike Mearls

http://forums.gleemax.com/showpost.php?p=16250967&postcount=10

 

[Oompa]

6 - A PC is "dying" at the end of a combat. No healing potions are available. The dying PC has healing surges available. Other characters can spend their own healing surges in the short rest but it appears (we might be wrong) the dying character can't do this since they can take no actions. The party Cleric has powers which could allow him to heal the dying PC by using one of the dying PC's healing surges on his behalf, but they are encounter powers and the Cleric used them all up in the actual battle. Does this mean that the PC must roll 5 minutes' (50 rounds?) worth of Death Saves to see if he survives long enough for the Cleric to get his powers back?

Just do an heal check and he is stabilized for the coming 5 minutes, till he takes any damage..


✦

Stabilize the Dying:

Make a DC 15 Heal check to stabilize an adjacent dying character. If you succeed, the character can stop making death saving throws until he or she takes damage. The character’s current hit point total doesn’t change as a result of being stabilized.​

​

 

[MarkB]

On the subject of healing, can a character use the "Use Second Wind" use of the Heal skill on a dying ally? Our group initially assumed not, given how much easier the DC was than the Stabilise the Dying usage, but it occurred to me afterwards that it might be balanced by the fact that you only get one Second Wind per encounter.

"The game's math assumes that the rogue gets sneak attack with just about every attack he makes. If the rogues in your game are constantly gaining combat advantage, it really isn't a big deal." - Mike Mearls

http://forums.gleemax.com/showpost.php?p=16250967&postcount=10

Thanks - that accords with my own assumptions, but I didn't want to re-open the can of worms.

 

[On Puget Sound]

Treating a dying patient with Heal:
Case 1: Patient has a healing surge remaining, and has not used Second Wind this encounter. Make a DC10 heal check to take the patient to 0 and then trigger his second wind; he spends a healing surge and regains 25% of his HP.

Case 2: Patient has not used Second Wind in this encounter, but is out of healing surges. Make a DC10 check as above to trigger Second Wind, which restores the patient to exactly 1 HP.

Case 3: Patient has used Second Wind in this encounter, whether he has healing surges remaining or not. Make a DC15 heal check to stabilize the character. If succesful, the patient's HP remain negative but he no longer needs to make death rolls (unless damaged further).

 

[Chris_Nightwing]

Ah, okay. Those are for the DM if he decides he needs more precise rules for Cover than those in the PHB.

Under the PHB rules, neither the melee nor ranged attacker suffers from cover in your described scenario.

Under the DMG 'more precise' rules, the melee attacker suffers from cover (since there are corners of his square with blocked lines to the opponent), but the ranged attacker does not (since he can choose one of his corners which has no blocked lines to the opponent). (I think this is the opposite of what you said in your first post... ah, you noticed that too.)

However, since the DMG 'more precise' rules only redefine the rules for cover for melee, ranged, close, and area attacks, you'd still use the PHB rules for any other cover determination... like whether you can use stealth.

-Hyp.

We've ended up ruling that you can't threaten around a corner in this manner in the same way that you can't move around a corner. You can use a ranged attack with no cover fine (you peer round at the back of your square I guess), but not a melee attack. This prevents silly situations where a swap places power is used and you can get to a square you wouldn't normally be able to move to (without triggering a trap for instance you would have to otherwise stand on to move around that corner).

 

[Regicide]

"The game's math assumes that the rogue gets sneak attack with just about every attack he makes. If the rogues in your game are constantly gaining combat advantage, it really isn't a big deal." - Mike Mearls

http://forums.gleemax.com/showpost.php?p=16250967&postcount=10

These are the same math wizs that did the skill challenge system?

As for minor action to move through a door, I think it's already too easy. Imagine a sprinter able to go at full speed completely unhindered by the fact that there is a door in their path since it's a minor to open... very odd.

 

[hamishspence]

Can you substitute a move for a standard action without it being a double move?

I.E. move up to door with move action, expend minor action to open it, move through with your standard action?

 

[Contents May Vary]

Is this really how Rogues are intended to play - Sneak Attack almost every round?

Indeed it is. The lead designer for 4th Ed had this to say:

"The game's math assumes that the rogue gets sneak attack with just about every attack he makes. If the rogues in your game are constantly gaining combat advantage, it really isn't a big deal."

See Mike Mearls posting here: http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=1055454

[EDIT] Oops, someone already posted that. Oh well.