A question about grab/other mechanics

[FreeXenon]

Perhaps the best thing to do is to talk to your DM and let him/her know that you are toying with your character and want to make some changes. What you are proposing are not great changes.

If your DM will let you just switch out the Rogue feat for the Quick Draw feat as if you never had it, and then retrain the at-will power and then you will be good to go.

Like you said this is your first few games of D&D while you are figuring things out. Hopefully, your DM will be merciful! =)

 

[RangerWickett]

If you want to be really janky, you could take one of the garrote multiclass feats, but that requires another feat and switching weapons.

Maybe just ask your DM if you can drink the blood of the recently expired, without requiring a grab. Say an enemy is at 0 hit points; maybe they're unconscious, not quite dead, at least not until you stoop over and bite out their throat.

 

[Aulirophile]

Grasping Weapon.

You're welcome.

 

[Dausuul]

Perhaps the best thing to do is to talk to your DM and let him/her know that you are toying with your character and want to make some changes. What you are proposing are not great changes.

If your DM will let you just switch out the Rogue feat for the Quick Draw feat as if you never had it, and then retrain the at-will power and then you will be good to go.

Like you said this is your first few games of D&D while you are figuring things out. Hopefully, your DM will be merciful! =)

Yeah, this. I can't speak for your DM, but I'm very generous with players re-speccing their characters, and especially so when it's a newbie.

 

[buddhafrog]

This is just how I DM, but if I saw your concept, I would change your Drain Blood feat to a move action (or even a minor+move). This way, if you were already in melee combat, you could grab and then drain blood. It does slightly power up the feat but does not break it.

Primarily I would do this to reward how you are looking to build upon your player concept - I love it.

Ask your DM if he will allow this. I'm guessing he might.

 

[tobiasosir]

Thanks, everyone, for your help! The rules for 4e seem pretty straight forward at first, but once you really get into them, they get complicated...it's a lot to wrap my head around!

I think everyone's suggestion to talk with my DM is the way to go. Here's the deal: when we started this campaign, he created characters for us, with backstories and all powers and such. He also gave us each a "destiny path," a place where our character could end up. The idea is that we'd go through a few sessions, and along the way each of us would come across our destiny and complete it for XP; then we have a choice: either follow through on the destiny and leave the party (so we can create a new character), or stay with the party and use the current character. One of us has already met their destiny, and chose to create a new character, which intigrated into the party just fine.

I plan to stay with this fighter, as it's just a cool concept and i can see a lot of development for her. Because the Dm has built a chance to change characters into the game, maybe he'd let me 'tweak' mine once I reach my destiny, rather than build a new one. And he seems happy that I've run with it this far, so I'm sure it won't be a problem.



In the meantime, I was paging through the rules compendium and found something that might make this all simpler until I get a chance to get all these feats/powers/what have you. But I'd appreciate input again, I might have this idea wrong:

The RC says that as a minor action I can sheathe/draw a weapon, which is fine. If i cash in a move action, I could sheathe the spear (minor), grab (standard), blood drain (action point), then get the spear again (minor) all in one go. Right? I'm not making an attack with this round (except for the 1d4 damage for blood drain), but I wouldn't be doing so with second wind either, and blood drain acts very much like that.

Or, here's the part I found interesting: I can drop an item as a free action. Does this count with weapons? If so, I could drop my spear entierly, make the grab/action point/blood drain, pick up the spear again (minor) and still have a move left over. I still wouldn't be making an attack really, but this would be a bit more versitile. I also like the way this could be described: I've been attacking this enemy all encounter; suddenly I drop the spear and lunge at it with my nails, stabbing him, then draw back licking the blood off my fingers (I decided I don't bite...yet...because I'm not a full vampire, just showing vampiric traits). All a bit shocking, and it gives my character an even more creepy vibe.

This is something I could do as soon as i level up, without taking any specific retraining or other feats; just blood drain. I could then 'work up to' improving how I use the power, which can be explained in character as coming to terms with my vampiric nature and learning to exploit rather than fear it. In the meanwhile, I still have a manageble (if clunky) way of using it.

Or is this off base?

 

[FreeXenon]

Sounds like you have it all about right.

Your DM's method of introducing you guys to D&D sounds interesting too. =)

 

[Dausuul]

The RC says that as a minor action I can sheathe/draw a weapon, which is fine. If i cash in a move action, I could sheathe the spear (minor), grab (standard), blood drain (action point), then get the spear again (minor) all in one go. Right? I'm not making an attack with this round (except for the 1d4 damage for blood drain), but I wouldn't be doing so with second wind either, and blood drain acts very much like that.

If you're willing to sacrifice a standard action to grab, sheathing or dropping the spear is unnecessary. All you have to do is take one hand off the spear and grab away. (The price is that you've expended two standard actions, plus the tactical value of an action point, simply to use Blood Drain. Second Wind costs only one standard action and doesn't require an attack roll.)

Taking your hand off the spear is only a problem if you want to use a power like Bash and Pinion, where you make a weapon attack and grab as part of the same action. In that case, you have to have enough hands to both wield the weapon and grab at the same time; so unless you have three hands, it doesn't work with a longspear.

 

[tobiasosir]

If you're willing to sacrifice a standard action to grab, sheathing or dropping the spear is unnecessary. All you have to do is take one hand off the spear and grab away. (The price is that you've expended two standard actions, plus the tactical value of an action point, simply to use Blood Drain. Second Wind costs only one standard action and doesn't require an attack roll.)

Ah, I hadn't thought of that. That makes it even more economical, and maybe I can find something useful to do with the extra minor action. As for the cost, you're right; it wastes the 'second chance to hit' idea of an action point, and seems selfish--as in I'm not using it for the party's benifit to deal damage as much as for my own for flavour. I could always just hold the grab and hope he doesn't escape before my next turn., but if he does escape, I've wasted an action anyway.


Taking your hand off the spear is only a problem if you want to use a power like Bash and Pinion, where you make a weapon attack and grab as part of the same action. In that case, you have to have enough hands to both wield the weapon and grab at the same time; so unless you have three hands, it doesn't work with a longspear.[/QUOTE]

Yes. This is where the quick draw would help, switching to a one handed weapon. I could always just start using only a one handed weapon, but this chances the entire character concept and makes another feat I have--polearm flanking--useless.
All of this would end up with a great character concept--basically a vampire slayer who's been turned into a damphyr, the thing she hates most--but it's a lot of investment for a cool concept. I guess I have to sit and think about how important it is to the character to go through all this; maybe it's simpler to leave it at 'she hates the sunlight.'

I brought it up with my DM and ma waiting for a response. Perhaps, instead of getting a new character once the 'destiny' is acheived, I ask to just rebuild what I've got, and swap everything at once...

 

[the Jester]

Ah, I hadn't thought of that. That makes it even more economical, and maybe I can find something useful to do with the extra minor action. As for the cost, you're right; it wastes the 'second chance to hit' idea of an action point, and seems selfish--as in I'm not using it for the party's benifit to deal damage as much as for my own for flavour. I could always just hold the grab and hope he doesn't escape before my next turn., but if he does escape, I've wasted an action anyway.

Not entirely, as escaping costs your enemy its move action. So unless it then sacrifices a standard to move (and forgoes its attack), it cannot reposition itself. Sometimes this can be very important in 4e.