How would you write Curse of the Bloody Fangs to make sense?

[fissionessence]

I definitely think the intent of Curse of the Bloody Fangs is terribly obvious, and I don't really see a necessity for this thread. However, I can kind of understand the problem with the way the power's wording doesn't exactly fit nicely together with the rules as written. If you feel this way, use this version:

Curse of the Bloody Fangs Warlock Attack 5
You call up a pack of ferocious, phantasmal beasts from the darkest and most savage depths of the Feywild. Only their slavering fangs appear in this world, snapping and rending in a mad frenzy at the foe you have cursed.
Daily | Arcane, Implement
Standard Action Ranged 10
Target: One creature
Attack: Charisma vs. AC
Hit: 2d10 + Charisma modifier damage and you may sustain the power against the target (save ends).
Miss: Half damage and no sustain.
Sustain Minor: The target and any of your enemies adjacent to it take 1d10 damage.

~ fissionessence

 

[keterys]

That would be the way I read it initially, certainly... but it seems quite strong to support not getting a save until it's sustained on closer investigation.

 

[Pickles JG]

Garrote Grip is an interesting one. There's basically no way for the sustain to work on a miss, though I could almost entertain an argument from a player that if he misses with the Dex vs Reflex attack, but succeeds in a grab before the end of his next turn (OA, Warlord-granted attack, or standard action in his next turn), he can use his minor action to sustain the grab he has achieved. ... almost.
-Hyp.

I just noticed that Garrotte Grip is reliable which is a pretty strong indication it cannot be sustained on a miss, though the wierdness of sustaining it on up to 3 enormous monsters would be amusing, once.

The issue with the Bloody Fangs remains can it be sustained on a miss & this applies to a bunch of Warlock powers too.

edit: Brainfart - that's not the issue with Bloody fangs it's the can they save before they are effected one.

 

[Hypersmurf]

I just noticed that Garrotte Grip is reliable which is a pretty strong indication it cannot be sustained on a miss, though the wierdness of sustaining it on up to 3 enormous monsters would be amusing, once.

Yeah - like I said, I'd almost entertain the argument. And given it's reliable, all that argument would do would be to trade the 2d6+X damage and cover for unconsciousness one round sooner - if they've managed to achieve an independent grab in the meantime, they can jump straight to the "Hit" result with a second use of the Reliable power, and then they need to sustain for three rounds.

edit: Brainfart - that's not the issue with Bloody fangs it's the can they save before they are effected one.

Hmm. I'm in the camp that says "Until the Sustain action is taken, the '(save ends)' text does not yet exist". In the same way that certain powers say, in their Sustain entry, "Make an attack - if it misses, the power ends"... this doesn't refer to the original attack roll, but only to the Sustain attack roll.

So until you Sustain Bloody Fangs, the target has nothing to save against.

-Hyp.

 

[The Little Raven]

Because for you to be able to sustain a power it needs to last at least until the end of your next turn.

Nowhere in the book does it say this.

If a power has a “Sustain” entry, you can keep that power active by taking a specified type of action (minor, move, or standard) during your turn. The “Sustain” entry tells you if a power has an effect that occurs when you take the action to sustain it. See “Durations,” page 278, for more about sustaining a power.

No mention of a duration requirement for you to be able to sustain the power, just the requirement of a Sustain entry, which it has.

Sustained Durations: An effect that has a “sustain standard,” a “sustain move,” or a “sustain minor” duration lasts as long as you sustain it. Starting on the turn after you create an effect, you sustain the effect by taking the indicated action: a standard action, a move action, or a minor action. (You can sustain an effect once per turn.) Some effects do something, such as attack, when you sustain them. A power’s description indicates what happens when you sustain it or let it lapse. At the end of your turn, if you haven’t spent the required action to sustain the effect, the effect ends.

Again, nothing about it needing to be "until the end of your next turn" or anything like that. All it needs is a Sustain entry and you can sustain it. Period. In fact, the section above this is the conditional duration section (until the end of your next turn, until the end of the encounter, save ends, etc), and it mentions nothing in reference to Sustain requiring a conditional duration.

You cannot sustain a power that isn't in effect, and this effect is instantaneous. So as written this power cannot be sustained.

I'd suggest reading those duration rules again, more carefully this time.

 

[CountPopeula]

I definitely think the intent of Curse of the Bloody Fangs is terribly obvious, and I don't really see a necessity for this thread.

4e has spawned a sub-game for some people, called "find something that could maybe be clearer, call customer service since they no longer seem to answer questions like this, take stock answer to forums and say customer service is stumped and therefor this is totally unusable and 4e is terrible." Notice how the OP stopped replying after everyone pointed out that the power does indeed work as written.