Battlefield archer question?

[LittleFuzzy]

how much damage depends entirely on what ability you use, if after designating 5 enemies as quarries, you use an ability that attacks each one separately and rolls damage separately (like some of the chain attacks I have seen) then no, roll quarry only once.

If using an ability that attacks multiples, but only rolls damage one time (an aoe basically) then quarry would be applied simultaneously to all of them, not in any specific order.

Not true. The quarry damage is additional damage rolled against a particular target. It keys off the target, not the power, and once you've applied it in a round, you can't do so again that round. The favorite example has traditionally been rogue sneak attack and blinding barrage. The additional damage works the exact same way for quarry, sneak attack, and a warlock's curse.

Are you sure they all have to be equidistance from the ranger? In a multiple case would you not just pick next closest and next closest etc?

I don't agree with that interpretation. I think if you're applying multiple marks, then you apply them to the closest enemies to you, in order. They don't all have to be equidistant. Otherwise the power is completely worthless, considering you can only get the additional damage against a single target once a round anyway.

 

[Kordeth]

If you read the entire text of Hunter's Quarry and of Battlefield Experience, it becomes pretty clear that Battlefield Experience lets you have multiple designated quarries at once, not designate multiple quarries with a single action.

Hunter’s Quarry
Once per turn as a minor action, you can designate the nearest enemy to you that you can see as your quarry.

Once per round, you deal extra damage to your quarry. The extra damage is based on your level. If you can make multiple attacks in a round, you decide which attack to apply the extra damage to after all the attacks are rolled.

The hunter’s quarry effect remains active until the end of the encounter, until the quarry is defeated, or until you designate a different target as your quarry.

You can designate one enemy as your quarry at a time.

Emphasis mine.

Battlefield Experience (11th level): You can designate more than one creature as your quarry at a time, up to a number equal to your Wisdom modifier. In addition, any attack made against a quarry receives a +1 bonus to attack rolls.

The only part of the text of Hunter's Quarry that Battlefield Experience overrides is that final, one-[sentence paragraph. It doesn't change anything about the minor action used to designate a quarry, nor does it provide any override or exception to the requirement that you can only designate the closest enemy (remember, even warlocks, who can curse multiple enemies, don't have a clause that says "if the nearest enemy is already cursed by you, you may curse the next-closest enemy).

Battlefield Experience allows you to have a number of quarries designated equal to your Wisdom modifier. It does not allow you to designate more than one quarry with a single action. If it did, it would say "When you use a minor action to designate a creature as your quarry, you may designate a number of creatures equal to your Wisdom modifier."

 

[Seule]

I have to go with Kordeth on this, it doesn't change how assigning quarries works other than that they don't drop off when you assign a new one (up to your limit). It makes quarry much more like the Warlock curse.

--Penn

 

[Bayuer]

I agree with previous answers. Curse one target in minor action. You can have more quarries at a time.

+1 is just for you archer. Its you paragon feature.

 

[AntiStateQuixote]

Not to belabor the point too much, I agree with Kordeth. I would go further and say that each time you use a minor action to designate a quarry the newly designated quarry must be the closest enemy at that time.

So, the ranger (battlefield archer) becomes a truly mobile fighter. Each turn he moves to a new position on the battlefield making a new opponent the closest enemy, uses a minor action to make that opponent one of his multiple quarries and then attacks one or more targets (based on the power used) and applies Hunter's Quarry damage to only one of the quarries (if any were hit by the attack).

 

[Jellarinn]

If you read the entire text of Hunter's Quarry and of Battlefield Experience, it becomes pretty clear that Battlefield Experience lets you have multiple designated quarries at once, not designate multiple quarries with a single action.

Except that Battlefield Experiences says designate more than one not have more than one designated. You even quote that in your own post. The importance of designate, the verb, being used instead of designated, the adjective, is huge. Designate is the act of choosing the quarry, not the status of something being chosen.

The only part of the text of Hunter's Quarry that Battlefield Experience overrides is that final, one-[sentence paragraph. It doesn't change anything about the minor action used to designate a quarry, nor does it provide any override or exception to the requirement that you can only designate the closest enemy (remember, even warlocks, who can curse multiple enemies, don't have a clause that says "if the nearest enemy is already cursed by you, you may curse the next-closest enemy).

The problem with this is that, even with your (collective, as many agree with your interpretation) you must change more than the last one-sentence paragraph. You must at the very least change the paragraph above that. Specifically the one that reads (bolded lines mine):

The hunter’s quarry effect remains active until the end of the encounter, until the quarry is defeated, or until you designate a different target as your quarry.

Indeed, if Battlefield Experience does mean what you are saying, they overwrote the wrong sentence. They should have overwrote that second to last paragraph of Hunter's Quarry, making Battlefield Experience say something along the lines of:

"Your Hunter's Quarry effect does not end when you designate a different target as your quarry. You may have up to your Wisdom modifier in creatures designated. If you are at your limit, you may end the quarry effect on one creature to designate a new creature. In addition, any attack made against a quarry receives a +1 bonus to attack rolls."

That's not to say I think you are definitely wrong, I'm just saying that if you are reading it correctly they should have worded it better (and I admit that even if I am reading it correctly, they still need to word it better). And really, I can see both sides of the discussion. I just think that the next time WotC releases errata, I hope that the clear up the wording one way or the other. (Note, I am not trying to bash WotC, here. I fully accept that a rulebook of this size is bound to have a few rules that are a bit ambiguous. I just hope that they clear this one up).

However, I still think that since they used "can designate more than one creature as your quarry at a time" instead of "can have more than one creature designated as your quarry at a time" is either poor wording on their part, or it means that you can designate multiple creatures at the same time (in other words, with the same action).

Of course, until WotC clarifies this with errata, the best answer is "whichever reading your DM agrees with" (unless you are the DM).

 

[Ziana]

I actually asked CS about this a while back. The answer I got has since been incorporated into the FAQ post and wiki here on ENWorld.

From Joe at Wizard's CS:

Q: Page 104 states that you can designate the enemy nearest you as your Quarry (errata modifies that to "nearest enemy you can see". In order to designate additional Quarries per page 113, is it necessary to adjust position before doing so, so that the new Quarry is the nearest enemy target, or is it sufficient to designate quarries in order of proximity from the character?

A: This appears to be a minor over sight but order of proximity will cover it.

The mechanic of having to start with the nearest enemy as your quarry appears to be intended to prevent the ranger from going straight for the squishies in the back, and also to promote some tactical mobility. However, once the ranger has marked the nearest enemy, it seems absurd that they can't mark the next nearest in turn. CS appears to agree.

How I found this thread is the discussion as to whether multiple quarries can be marked with a single minor action, or they each have to be designated individually. I haven't seen that officially resolved, and it seems that one quarry per minor action is an appropriate interpretation.

 

[KidSnide]

The mechanic of having to start with the nearest enemy as your quarry appears to be intended to prevent the ranger from going straight for the squishies in the back, and also to promote some tactical mobility. However, once the ranger has marked the nearest enemy, it seems absurd that they can't mark the next nearest in turn. CS appears to agree.

Well, CS does appear to agree, but I hardly think the alternative is absurd. IMO, the most natural reading of this power made the Quarry ability work like a Warlock's Curse when it comes to applying it to multiple targets.

-KS

 

[Branduil]

If you can still only designate one quarry per turn, then this ability is very poorly worded. The most natural interpretation to me is that each time you would designate a quarry, i.e., with a minor action, you designate a number equal to your wisdom modifier.

 

[Thatwackyned]

Sorry to troll this up, but has the issue been fixed?