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Blue_Clover

First Post
This might seem like a noob question (because it's my first time playing a DND campaign in general), but what is the importance of mobility and positioning?

In particular, I've been looking over the 4e monk as a backup character, and they appear to have some insane mobility and I have some cool ideas for character flavor, but I'm not sure how to properly utilize all the movement he gets once combat starts
 

Mustrum_Ridcully

Mustrum_Ridcully

Hero
Blue_Clover said:
This might seem like a noob question (because it's my first time playing a DND campaign in general), but what is the importance of mobility and positioning?

In particular, I've been looking over the 4e monk as a backup character, and they appear to have some insane mobility and I have some cool ideas for character flavor, but I'm not sure how to properly utilize all the movement he gets once combat starts
Click to expand...
The importance of mobility and positioning can very a lot, and will depend on the setup of the encounter/environment you are in. Generally, you can probably look out for things like this:
  • Get to an enemy that is otherwise protected and causes a lot of havoc. Like a Artillery or Controller monster that favors ranged attacks. These targets are often kinda "soft", but they might have AOEs, good single target damage, or nasty control effects that neuter you or your friends. (You might need to take care of them alone, but it's better if someone with some ranged abilitiy or similar mobility can support you, though it can already be a win if he enemy just has to split fire and cannot focus with the brutes, soldiers and skirmishers on individual targets.)
  • Stay out of area effects by simply not needing to be as close to the front-line. You can probably get close again next turn.
  • Get into flanking positions that are otherwise hard to reach. (This usuallyrequires shifts, jumping, and maybe some slides/pushes to go along with that)
  • Get behind enemy lines to do something in scenarios where killing all the NPCs isn't the primary goal. (Like trigger a lever, stop the sacrifice. This is very situational.
Of course, you can also screw up majorly and end up isolated and alone surrounded by enemies, or trigger traps, because you went further than you should. So don't do that. :)
 

Kariotis

Kariotis

Explorer
How do Inherent Boni (in RAW, not houseruled) interact with Masterwork Armor? I've been DMing in a Hyborea-inspired world where magic is extremely rare but masterwork armor is available. So I made use of Inherent Boni as per DMG 2, "Alternative Rewards", p 136-146, and now they're getting in the lvl 16 range so I wanted to hand out some masterworks.

I don't quite understand how creating nonmagical masterwork armor according to RAW works and what kind of bonus the masterwork bonus is (item bonus or enhancement bonus)? Does somebody have the references? I want to try it as RAW as possible (I trust their maths) before I houserule too much. Thanks :)
 

M

MwaO

Adventurer
Kariotis said:
How do Inherent Boni (in RAW, not houseruled) interact with Masterwork Armor? I've been DMing in a Hyborea-inspired world where magic is extremely rare but masterwork armor is available. So I made use of Inherent Boni as per DMG 2, "Alternative Rewards", p 136-146, and now they're getting in the lvl 16 range so I wanted to hand out some masterworks.

I don't quite understand how creating nonmagical masterwork armor according to RAW works and what kind of bonus the masterwork bonus is (item bonus or enhancement bonus)? Does somebody have the references? I want to try it as RAW as possible (I trust their maths) before I houserule too much. Thanks :)
Click to expand...
Inherent bonuses are essentially the enhancement bonus. And they're a little unclear about this, but if you have a +3 Magic Armor, it should be by definition masterwork. And that just means it is some free bonus to keep the math correct.
As an example, a level 16 Fighter who normally wears Scale+Heavy Shield at 1st level(19 AC), ought to have a 34 AC at 16th.
So 10+8(Level)+7(Scale)+2(Shield)+3(Enhancement) = 32. If you look at Masterwork +3 Armors, they give +2 AC, kicking that 32 AC up to 34...
 

Kariotis

Kariotis

Explorer
Right, the magical bonus to armor is an enhancement bonus, I'm not positive about the masterwork bonus though (whether that's an enhancement or an item bonus). Also I'm pretty positive that although most masterwork armor is magical, that's more due to conventions of high-magic settings, it's not a requirements per the rules. I even vaguely remember different books contradicting each other on that one :unsure:
 

M

MwaO

Adventurer
Kariotis said:
Right, the magical bonus to armor is an enhancement bonus, I'm not positive about the masterwork bonus though (whether that's an enhancement or an item bonus). Also I'm pretty positive that although most masterwork armor is magical, that's more due to conventions of high-magic settings, it's not a requirements per the rules. I even vaguely remember different books contradicting each other on that one :unsure:
Click to expand...
Masterwork bonus is part of the armor bonus(Plate is +8 as an example at 1st, +14 at 30th). Defenses should go up by +1 per level. Level/2+Enhancement +6 = +21, which is not +29. Neither is Level/2+Enhancement +6+4(Dex or Int+8/2) = +25. So for whatever reasons, if you look on page 345 of Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms, you'll see that heavy armor gets an additional armor bonus of +6 and light armor gets an additional bonus of +2, so they both go up +27.

This gives a small advantage to light armor wielders, who can put an additional +2 from their Epic Destiny onto Dex or Int and can get Elven Chain Shirt up to +3, for a total of +4 above a heavy armor user.
 

Kariotis

Kariotis

Explorer
Ah that helps :D So the masterwork bonus gets indeed rolled into the item bonus (armor bonus), not the enhancement bonus.

Despite all defenses increasing at about +1 per level I've never had a good rule of thumb how high the total defenses for each role are on average at any given level, for a quick estimate how good new items should be ... you guys happen to have one?
 

M

MwaO

Adventurer
In general, PCs should average about Level+15 AC and Level+13 in the NADs. Defenders tend to be Level+17 & 14 in the NADs(often an extra +1 to NADs and then Heavy Shield equivalent for +2 AC/Ref)
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