Warlord Combat Leader - Change initiative during combat?

[Khime]

Basic question - is the Warlord class feature "Combat Leader" an AOE buff that your party can move into and out of during a combat, or is it a static bonus to your check at the start of combat?

The Warlord's Combat Leader class feature says "You and each ally within 10 squares who can see and hear you gain a +2 power bonus to initiative." It specifically doesn't say they get a power bonus to their initiative checks, but to their initiative. I couldn't find any other similar class abilities, and the feats I looked at that monkey with initiative all deal with modifying the initiative check... except for the Warlord feat Combat Commander, which only says it modifies the "bonus to initiative granted by your Combat Leader class feature", with no mention of 'check'.

So if you get out of range of the Warlord, does your initiative drop? If combat starts and the Warlord is more than 10 squares away, but moves in to join you, does it jump up? And, most importantly, does changing your initiative value during combat move you around in the initiative order that was set by your initiative check at the start of the fight?

 

[DracoSuave]

Basic question - is the Warlord class feature "Combat Leader" an AOE buff that your party can move into and out of during a combat, or is it a static bonus to your check at the start of combat?

The Warlord's Combat Leader class feature says "You and each ally within 10 squares who can see and hear you gain a +2 power bonus to initiative." It specifically doesn't say they get a power bonus to their initiative checks, but to their initiative. I couldn't find any other similar class abilities, and the feats I looked at that monkey with initiative all deal with modifying the initiative check... except for the Warlord feat Combat Commander, which only says it modifies the "bonus to initiative granted by your Combat Leader class feature", with no mention of 'check'.

So if you get out of range of the Warlord, does your initiative drop? If combat starts and the Warlord is more than 10 squares away, but moves in to join you, does it jump up? And, most importantly, does changing your initiative value during combat move you around in the initiative order that was set by your initiative check at the start of the fight?

It's a buff.

So, yes, if the Warlord becomes invisible, or inaudible, or any number of other things, that bonus can go away. When you reset your intiative from delaying, you change the total initiative, not the roll.

And the range is not 10 squares. It's Line of Sight.

 

[Khime]

And the range is not 10 squares. It's Line of Sight.

With this last bit you're thinking of Commanding Presence, which is special stuff that happens when an ally "who can see you" spends an action point. Combat Leader is a different class feature that specifcially says "You and each ally within 10 squares who can see and hear you gain a +2 power bonus to initiative."

 

[Mengu]

Initiative bonuses are only relevant when making an initiative check. So, no, your initiative order doesn't suddenly change if you move more than 10 squares from the warlord. That would be utterly confusing to say the least.

 

[UltimaGabe]

Although it is a buff and can indeed be taken away, the bonus only matters when making an initiative check- which typically only happens at the beginning of an encounter. Think of it this way- gaining combat advantage doesn't make last round's attack hit, and losing combat advantage doesn't turn previous hits into misses.

 

[DracoSuave]

With this last bit you're thinking of Commanding Presence, which is special stuff that happens when an ally "who can see you" spends an action point. Combat Leader is a different class feature that specifcially says "You and each ally within 10 squares who can see and hear you gain a +2 power bonus to initiative."

Good point.

I'm too lazy to crack open books today.