I have Heroes of Shadows

[Aegeri]

What are some of the binder warlock encounter and daily powers like? Further, what sort of riders on their powers to binder warlocks end up getting?

 

[WalterKovacs]

What are the alignment restrictions for the Blackguard Vices?

Domination: Unaligned or evil
Fury: Any but lawful good [although 'most' are unaligned]

What are some of the binder warlock encounter and daily powers like? Further, what sort of riders on their powers to binder warlocks end up getting?

Dailies: They get 2 choices at each daily level (expect for 9 and 25, where they get a warlock ally summoning power). There is 1 single target ranged attack, and 1 area burst that creates a zone attack at each level, except at 29 where instead of single target there is a big burst that creates conjurations.

The zones are all solid controller stuff. They immobilize, slow, discourage enemies from leaving the zone, prevent enemies from leaving the zone, penalize or prevent enemies from attacking outside the zone, etc ... very focused on basicaly taking enemies out of the fight temporarily.

The ranged attacks have some interesting ideas as well. One deals ongoing damage that the enemy can shake off by trying to "escape a grab" on their turn [so, it tries to burn up the opponent's move actions]. One slows (s/e). One is a conjuration that can move around and attack to daze until end of next turn. One daze (s/e). The level 29 one conjurs duplicates a copy of each enemy in the burst, who attack their originals with a MBA with +4 to hit and damage, then they stick around and deal damage to enemies that are in the space of, or adjacent to, any of the shadow conjurations, which can be cumulative.

Encounter powers (normal effects):

Gloom - Push, slow, blind, slide, grant c/a, remove from play for a turn.

Star - slowed, zone of "darkness", daze, zone granting c/a, knock prone

Rider effects:

Gloom - Damage if target moves, able to deal damage to adjacent creature, enemies grant c/a and can't o/a while adjacent to target, also slide the target, make allies invisible when near enemy, create a square of damage like cloud of daggers

Star - Zone of difficult terrain, zone deals damage, slide target and deal damage to target and adjacent creatures at end of slide, target takes extra damage, pull towards center of burst and create a damaging square in the origin square

So, outside of one power that just ups the pure damage of the attack, most of the riders create a second thing for the powers to do, giving the powers two control effects for the price of one.

[Riders are only for the encounter powers, and it is for all of them, not counting the paragon path one, since it's exclusive to binders of that pact anyway; They are basically built like warpriests with choice of daily/utility, and their pact determining encounters and paragon path].

 

[mageta80]

Does the Binder have the Eldritch Pact class feature? (prerequisite for Two Fold Pact feat)

Can you confirm that the riders are for the Binder Star pact only and not for the general "Warlock" Star pact.

What are the improved boon for both pact (and at which level)?

What are the Paragon Paths for the binder?

 

[Zaran]

Those were the only options, all other levels gives you a power (or additional uses of the bloodsucking power). You do get a different encounter power at a few levels, that let's you spend a surge to attack a second target or deal more damage to the single target.

Wow. Do they do the attributes for you too? Are you allowed to pick a name for your character?

And people want more of these eClasses!

 

[WalterKovacs]

Does the Binder have the Eldritch Pact class feature? (prerequisite for Two Fold Pact feat)

The class feature is called Pact Boon, so they wouldn't qualify.

Can you confirm that the riders are for the Binder Star pact only and not for the general "Warlock" Star pact.

The riders basically say: Gloom Pact (Binder): or Star Pact (Binder):. So, the riders don't work for generic warlocks.

What are the improved boon for both pact (and at which level)?

At level 16 they get "Binder's Boon", their equivalent to improved boon.

For Gloom: During the slide, the target can pass through enemies and blocking terrain, but has to end in a square it can normally occupy.

For Star: In addition to invisible, you are also insubstantial until end of next turn

Note: This is part of the Master Binder paragon path (your 16th level feature)

What are the Paragon Paths for the binder?

The one presented with the class is Master Binder. It's action point, class feature, and encounter power are tied to the pact. It's utility is a no action (during turn) daily that can be used to teleport 10 (without needing LOS), end an effect on you that is save ends, or you can make yourself immune to damage until end of your next turn. The daily is a single target ranged attack, damage with half on a miss. It's effect is to let you automatically get off your pact boon, andi you kill the enemy anyway, you get an extra standard action this turn as well.

For the pact specific parts of Master Binder, at 11 the gloom pact improves its at-will (you can deal auto damage to another creature in the burst if you hit), action point gives you c/a for all targets of the attack, and the enounter is an areathat creates a zone of darkness that deals damage to enemies that end their turn inside.

For the star pact, at 11 your at-will improves so that anyone that attacks the target with c/a gets +2 to damage rolls, an action point gives you +4 to damage with cold/necro/psychic damage until end of turn, and the encounter power is a single target that dazes and the creature needs to include the closest creature in any attack it makes on it's next turn. [For some reason the second part is a rider even though only a star pact binder is the only class that could have that paragon path ... hmm]

There is also a paragon path in the book that is for any gloom pact warlock (so, at the moment, a binder or hexblade could take it).

At 11 you get bonuses to damage for your encounters and dailies (+2, +4 is you are bloodied). Spending an action point to make an attack deals auto damage to one creature within 5. Encounter targets up to 2 enemies, weakens and if you are bloodied, you deal extra damage as part of the attack. Utility is encounter, and you get c/a to all enemies until end of turn. At 16, once per encounter when you drop someone you can use an at-will warlock power as a minor action (free action if bloodied) bfore the end of your turn. Daily is a single target attack, it stuns (s/e) and you daze yourself. Aftereffect: Dazed (s/e) and you have to include nearest enemy in any attack you make, but you get +2 to attack rolls and +5 to damage rolls, all that as long as he stays dazed. On a miss, he's dazed (s/e) and nothing happens to you as a warlock.

Just as an FYI: I pretty much left out damage ... there really aren't many attacks that don't do damage, so I only listed the other stuff (or conditional damage/ongoing damage, etc)

 

[Dannager]

Wow. Do they do the attributes for you too? Are you allowed to pick a name for your character?

And people want more of these eClasses!

This is very similar to how most classes functioned in previous editions - you had relatively few choices to make as you leveled up, unless you were a spellcaster. Even if you're playing an Essentials class, you still have a fair number of choices to make as you level - feats, retraining, paragon paths, epic destinies, some of your powers (heck, all of your powers if you want; you're not restricted to the powers in the Essentials builds).

It's just another way to play, and there are people who find it easier to manage. No reason to knock it.

 

[WalterKovacs]

Wow. Do they do the attributes for you too? Are you allowed to pick a name for your character?

And people want more of these eClasses!

To be fair, the classes in HotFK and HotFL are nowhere near this restrictive.

I'm assuming that few other classes would be like this. The vampire is different because, ultimately, it's not "really" a class ... You don't train to be a vampire, or learn, etc. And this isn't Vampire the Masquerade where there are many types of vampires in the world that can pick different types of powers. So basically this is what powers a vampire develops as he grows in power, and the choices they do get are basically to either be Bluff and Diplomacy, or Stealth and Intimidate. Are you the charming vamp, or the beastial vamp?

It's the low end of restrictiveness ... but most other eClasses either give you a choice to pick say ... all your encounters at level 1, or they give you different choices (i.e. no dailies, but you gain at-wills). And, in play, you have basically the same choices as most classes, with the regular number of daily, encounter and utilities, plus 3 at-wills.

[Although, to be fair, your attributes are pretty locked in, since you really need to pump dex and charisma as much as possible, leaving you a bit of customization for your last 3 or 4 points; then again, that isn't much different from a slayer, sorceror or blackguard whose striker damage is based on a secondary stat]

 

[mageta80]

Thank you so much !

 

[Zaran]

This is very similar to how most classes functioned in previous editions - you had relatively few choices to make as you leveled up, unless you were a spellcaster. Even if you're playing an Essentials class, you still have a fair number of choices to make as you level - feats, retraining, paragon paths, epic destinies, some of your powers (heck, all of your powers if you want; you're not restricted to the powers in the Essentials builds).

It's just another way to play, and there are people who find it easier to manage. No reason to knock it.

Oh, I know that I've always regretted the day when I was forced to buy into 4e and have all those choices in powers when I levelled up. I hated being able to distingish my character from the next! If only they would revert their rather robust rules and choices to the days when our characters were determined by the randomness of 4d6k3 attributes!

What made 4e great was how we could actually build a character that was balanced and fun to play. Not to be given a character sheet and say "Here! Make up a name to put at the top !" I guarantee you that the player that wants to tackle having 2 surges wants more choices than what feat to get every 2.1 levels

 

[IanB]

Oh, I know that I've always regretted the day when I was forced to buy into 4e and have all those choices in powers when I levelled up. I hated being able to distingish my character from the next! If only they would revert their rather robust rules and choices to the days when our characters were determined by the randomness of 4d6k3 attributes!

What made 4e great was how we could actually build a character that was balanced and fun to play. Not to be given a character sheet and say "Here! Make up a name to put at the top !" I guarantee you that the player that wants to tackle having 2 surges wants more choices than what feat to get every 2.1 levels

Good to know you speak for everyone. I really don't see a problem with having a wider variety of complexity available in characters. Some people really do want the simpler first edition fighter type class (and this still has more choice than that.)