The 18 INT Warlord

[Tony Vargas]

Is it just me, or is the 18 INT Tactical Warlord catching on? I've seen several posts mention Eladrin warlords multiclassed to Wizard.

I debated for days what to do with a Warlord, and that's what I finally settled on, INT set higher than STR so my Tactical Presence isn't trivial. Add Tactical Assault and make liberal use of Commander's Strike and your party's doing lots of damage, and your slightly lower hit probability isn't really holding you back that much. Wolf Pack Tactics and Pin the Foe give you a desireable effect that doesn't require you hit, so they're also good choices. If you're human, you might even take Furious Smash - it won't do much damage or give a large bonus, but it's vs FORT and could be good for nixing the occassional high-AC/low-FORT minion. While the encounter exploits don't have an easy choice like that, there is one that's vs REF.

It really screws you on Warlord's Favor and Lead the Attack, though, both of which would give a huge bonus, but require /you/ to hit. One way around it is to get some Aid Another or other bonuses from your buddies ("Hey, I give you bonuses all the time..") to set you up for Lead the Attack, then everyone gets the +5 for the rest of the encounter - perfect for beating down solos.

An then there's multiclassing to Wizard (Scorching Burst seems a good choice), maybe even going Wizard of the Spiral Tower so your magic longsword can both help your warlord powers land, and add to your few wizard spells.

 

[Mengu]

It's not too difficult to have 2 16's and put them into Str and Int. You get your racial bonus to Int, and you're in excellent shape. I'd go with Tiefling, Str 16, Con 11, Dex 10, Int 18, Wis 8, Cha 15. Low Con hurts a bit, but with Hide armor and a light shield, you're sitting at a respectable 18 AC.

 

[rkanodia]

An then there's multiclassing to Wizard (Scorching Burst seems a good choice), maybe even going Wizard of the Spiral Tower so your magic longsword can both help your warlord powers land, and add to your few wizard spells.

This doesn't work. Customer service noted that the ability to use a longsword as an implement requires you to have an Arcane Implement Mastery.

 

[brehobit]

Is it just me, or is the 18 INT Tactical Warlord catching on? I've seen several posts mention Eladrin warlords multiclassed to Wizard.

.

Depending on the party composition and how you read it, Commander’s Strike is just huge with an 18 int warlord.

Our fighter is doing something like 2d6+9 when the warlord requests his attack...

 

[Plane Sailing]

This doesn't work. Customer service noted that the ability to use a longsword as an implement requires you to have an Arcane Implement Mastery.

I can't understand the stupid, inane decisions that seem to be designed to gimp certain paragon paths.

Chalk up yet *another* house rule, eh?

 

[Tony Vargas]

Our fighter is doing something like 2d6+9 when the warlord requests his attack...

Yep, 18 STR fighter, 18 INT Warlord, Weapon Focus, that's +9. My fighter insited on the Greatsword, though, so it's only 1d10+9, but at +8 vs AC. Of course, she's a human fighter, with Actions Surge, so that, plus Tactical Presence & Tactical Assault equals a +5 att +4 dam with an Action Point. If only I could have talked the Rogue out of Artful Dodger...

 

[blargney the second]

High-Int warlord is great for anybody who liked playing a bard in 3e.

 

[GoodKingJayIII]

I can't understand the stupid, inane decisions that seem to be designed to gimp certain paragon paths.

Chalk up yet *another* house rule, eh?

I think you can pretty much blame customer service for that, who seem to have no more mastery of the rules than the player base.

 

[Kordeth]

I think you can pretty much blame customer service for that, who seem to have no more mastery of the rules than the player base.

Ummm...

Choose an arcane implement that you specialize in, whether the wand, staff, or orb. You can use a longsword as if it were that type of arcane implement when casting your spells.

This isn't customer service making something up, it's right there in the book.

 

[Eldorian]

I can't understand the stupid, inane decisions that seem to be designed to gimp certain paragon paths.

Chalk up yet *another* house rule, eh?

You gotta be kidding me. The more I read custserv "quotes" the more I think I'll never pay attention to another. Wizard of the Spiral Tower is a very cool multiclass option for a warlord/wizard, and not much else.

Overall, I think what custserv is doing is going the whole "rules as written despite what was meant" route. Also, what is with ranger paragon paths and their lack of mutliclass eligibility. Did the developers really want them to be paragon paths only for ranger base class characters?

I'm glad the group I play in has a DM who does the "rules as they sound coolest" as opposed to "rules as written".