Excerpts: Swordmage

[A. Malkov]

A little of more info about the swordmage

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/4ex/20080826a

I would like to have more info about leveling in order to use this character in LFR.

 

[D'karr]

A little of more info about the swordmage

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/4ex/20080826a

I would like to have more info about leveling in order to use this character in LFR.

The LFR Character Creation Guide has all the information necessary for playing a SwordMage for LFR. The information might change once the Player's Guide is published but if you want to play right now, you can.

Character Creation Guidelines on the RPGA site.

 

[Cadfan]

Its odd that the only character that's giving me a meaningful disconnect of mechanics and flavor is a magical character class.

Booming Blade: it hits them, then blasts them with magic if they try to leave? Why not just blast them with magic automatically if you have the ability to blast them with magic?

Aegis of Shielding: It reduces damage dealt by the enemies attacks, but only if they aren't attacking you. Why? If you have the ability to reduce damage dealt, why not do it when they attack you as well?

I know, I know, "a wizard did it." But at least the other markings and quarry type abilities in the game make sense to me. If a fighter has your number, you'd better pay attention to him or he'll beat you senseless. If a paladin challenges you, you'd better accept the challenge or his god will scorch you where you stand. Once a ranger picks his target, he always gets his man. Once a warlock curses you, you're vulnerable to his magics.

Ok, I get those. But these I don't get. I guess I don't have to, really, because they're arcane. But still.

 

[D'karr]

Its odd that the only character that's giving me a meaningful disconnect of mechanics and flavor is a magical character class.

Booming Blade: it hits them, then blasts them with magic if they try to leave? Why not just blast them with magic automatically if you have the ability to blast them with magic?

Aegis of Shielding: It reduces damage dealt by the enemies attacks, but only if they aren't attacking you. Why? If you have the ability to reduce damage dealt, why not do it when they attack you as well?

I know, I know, "a wizard did it." But at least the other markings and quarry type abilities in the game make sense to me. If a fighter has your number, you'd better pay attention to him or he'll beat you senseless. If a paladin challenges you, you'd better accept the challenge or his god will scorch you where you stand. Once a ranger picks his target, he always gets his man. Once a warlock curses you, you're vulnerable to his magics.

Ok, I get those. But these I don't get. I guess I don't have to, really, because they're arcane. But still.

Because he is a defender, like the Fighter or the Paladin.

If the "marked" target moves away from him, the target takes extra damage. If the target attacks anybody but him, his damage is reduced.

The swordmages serves the same purpose (defender) so he keeps the attackers on him, rather than them going after the striker or controller.

 

[Logan_Bonner]

Aegis of Shielding: It reduces damage dealt by the enemies attacks, but only if they aren't attacking you. Why? If you have the ability to reduce damage dealt, why not do it when they attack you as well?

You're normally using your arcane shield to protect yourself, as shown by the class feature that gives you a shield bonus to AC. If you have marked a target, you're following his movements and can send your shield out for an instant to protect your ally instead.

 

[Cadfan]

But, but...

D'Karr- I know he's a defender, I'm just feeling a mismatch between his defender powers and the logic behind them. Its like if the Fighter had the Paladin's challenge ability- it wouldn't make sense without the explanation of the divine power of the challenge punishing the person who rejected it.

WOTC Logan- Alright, I guess... but your shield doesn't give YOU damage reduction, it gives you an AC bonus. I mean, whatever, I'll get over it, but still.

 

[Mercule]

You're normally using your arcane shield to protect yourself, as shown by the class feature that gives you a shield bonus to AC. If you have marked a target, you're following his movements and can send your shield out for an instant to protect your ally instead.

I like that flavor, but I didn't actually see the Warding feature described in the preview. It was named, but no details were provided.

 

[That One Guy]

Its odd that the only character that's giving me a meaningful disconnect of mechanics and flavor is a magical character class.

Booming Blade: it hits them, then blasts them with magic if they try to leave? Why not just blast them with magic automatically if you have the ability to blast them with magic?

Aegis of Shielding: It reduces damage dealt by the enemies attacks, but only if they aren't attacking you. Why? If you have the ability to reduce damage dealt, why not do it when they attack you as well?

I know, I know, "a wizard did it." But at least the other markings and quarry type abilities in the game make sense to me. If a fighter has your number, you'd better pay attention to him or he'll beat you senseless. If a paladin challenges you, you'd better accept the challenge or his god will scorch you where you stand. Once a ranger picks his target, he always gets his man. Once a warlock curses you, you're vulnerable to his magics.

Ok, I get those. But these I don't get. I guess I don't have to, really, because they're arcane. But still.

Okay, so I always try to use descriptions in game that make some sort of sense when spoken aloud. The Aegis of Shielding is (in my mind) more of an extension of the Swordmage's warding ability (which I sort of describe in a weirdly jedi-like fashion). [Ninja'd by WOTC_Logan] Booming blade is more of a curse or a follow up attack due to the enemy giving ground. I think that the ally warding thing is used differently. When one uses that feature on oneself, it's more of a deflection from straight on. When it is used as the Aegis, it is more like an attempt to deflect the attack from hitting anything vital and dampening the blow.

 

[cdrcjsn]

WOTC Logan- Alright, I guess... but your shield doesn't give YOU damage reduction, it gives you an AC bonus. I mean, whatever, I'll get over it, but still.

If it helps, you can view HPs and AC as both abstractions that represent your defenses.

When viewed in that light, they are somewhat interchangeable.

In fact, increases to your AC or penalties to the monster's attacks can be quantified into hit points by taking into account average damage per hit and chance of hitting of an opponent of a certain level.

 

[Kitirat]

You're normally using your arcane shield to protect yourself, as shown by the class feature that gives you a shield bonus to AC. If you have marked a target, you're following his movements and can send your shield out for an instant to protect your ally instead.

A question I had some players ask may be something you can give insight into Logan. It was brought to my attention that all the other classes save the swordmage had a balance about them. Only wizards got bursts as at-wills, no-one got someone elses encounter power as an at-will, etc.

Yet with the Sword mage, he has not one but two at-wills which not only break that parity, but exceed it.

Greenfire is a burst which is in all ways better than cleave (save for the times you have two enemies adjecent to you but not themselves adjecent) and only effects enemies. To get a similar effect you need to be a cleric with an encounter power or a wizard's at-will (but it effects friends).

With the close burst 1 power, you give the swordmage dire wolverine strike of the ranger encounter fame as an at-will against reflex.

This is not complaining, just a question on if it was intentional power-creep, thought to be offset by some other effect, lack of playtesting, or some other factor? Sounds a bit attackist, but really, I'm just trying to see if I would ever allow the class in my game. At the moment I would see it being the best defender to the point of making the others feel "inferior" in-game.

As a point, I find the 8 primary classes pretty well thought out and put together. Only the rogue and melee ranger can feel abit the "same" so far. The swordmage seems to push the fighter in particular to far "outside" the bell-curve, espeically with their awesome at-wills.

Care to comment?

Thanks,
Kitirat