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Yeah, the previous posts are right about the math. More technically: the optimal thing to do is reroll anything that comes up less than average. As keterys said, for d8s this pops the average result from 4.5 up to 5.5. However, as also noted, because of your rerolling, you're more likely to...

FWIW, Hammer Fall was a little underwhelming to begin with. Interesting that they so clearly trumped it with Brutal Slam, though. And the two Phantom Beast powers actually work kind of differently. One is an encounter power that basically just grants phasing for two rounds; the other is a...

So a low paragon Whirly-Barb with Deadly Axe and two +3 vicious waraxes rolls a crit, and deals max weapon damage plus 10d12 on top of that? That seems a bit much, even for a barbarian. Actually, do you even add the enhancement damage to both rolls? I didn't originally read it that way, but...

Yeah, my crit question was about things like bonus dice from magic weapons, "high crit", and various special magic weapon crit properties. I didn't think about the attack roll; I agree with Ridcully, though, that the most straightforward thing is to use the crit properties of whichever weapon...

My guess is "NO" to range extension (seems way too good, as noted above), "YES" to granting LoS/LoE. Why they didn't just say it that way is beyond me. In any case, I think it's a pretty good ability just with that much; being able to hit someone who can't hit back is always nice.

I'm not sure it's an "oops", but I noticed Barbarians have some powers that deal both main-hand and off-hand weapon damage to one target from a single attack roll... what happens when you crit? Pick one weapon's crit properties? I'm assuming for balance you don't get both. What if you have...

Meh, if the blue dragon stays at range where only a fraction of the party can attack it, it's also not using Frightful Presence or Draconic Fury (or Thunder/Wing Clap at high levels) which means it's only at a fraction of its full potential. The breath weapon isn't too bad, but Lightning Burst...

Revenants get to choose a "past life" race that they can also take feats from; this allows for some interesting fun with the Assassin's racial feats. You can pick up both Grave Dust feats, Crimson Eye Action, and put Killer's Insight on top for more shrouds. If you ever get lucky enough, you...

It's all items. They're generally the best way to get situational powers that your class doesn't grant. In particular, winged boots are only level 13. There are several other flight-related foot-slot items (zephyr boots, airstriders, etc...), and I think many melee characters are not going to...

This makes about as much sense as extrapolating a lightly loaded character's combat running speed (8 squares per move action) to miles per hour (about 9.1) and concluding that pretty much any D&D character can run a marathon in under three hours. Which is to say, it doesn't make sense. In...

Actually, while they weren't bad targets in previous editions, I think the the priority targets in 4e are leaders, especially clerics. Minor action healing is a huge advantage, and taking it away can seriously impair a party's ability to withstand a long fight.

Honestly, I think the character is probably OK. If he really focuses on choosing powers to get the most out of that gear, he's going to give up a lot of "controller-ness", instead taking beast-form powers with forced movement riders, most of which are melee range and only move targets a few...

Eeeew, there's your problem. You're trying to have 3 mediocre stats in addition to STR+WIS. Drop CHA and INT and you could have 18 13 14 8 16 10 (or swap STR/WIS, or take 17 in both). I think 10 CHA is surprisingly playable for a Cleric, since so few powers make much use of it, and you've got...

Dire Rats do have a special ability - they infect whatever they bite with Filth Fever. That's a lost healing surge right there. Their accuracy is bad, but in three rounds they'll probably hit once, which means some player effectively lost at least 5 hp on top of the actual bite damage. I...

Not to derail the striker damage part of the discussion, but did anybody else notice that the Assassin is only getting controller HP? 10+CON and 4/level. A level 11 rogue with the same stats would have 76 hp, not this guy's 64. Also, class bonus is +1 Fort/Will, -no- Reflex bonus...

Sounds to me like the "please everyone" solution is for conjurations to have more or less the same movement mode as their conjurer, unless otherwise specified. They use the caster's ability scores and defenses, anyway, so why not movement modes too?

Many of the beast powers either combine a beast attack -and- a weapon attack, in which case you can get the weapon enhancement damage, OR they add your Wis modifier to the beast's damage, which can make up for the loss of weapon enhancement. If you're a ranger and your Wis is less than 22 at...

Why not just do this? Mechanically, this one is just a restricted (to Flaming) version of a scroll of Enchant Magic Item bundled with 1000 gp of residuum. I guess what I'm saying, is that the game doesn't technically have "specific enchantments in item form", but making such things seems like...

Yeah, and there's also the weird ruling (by CustServ, I believe), that blasts/bursts essentially extend infinitely far upward. To me, putting a flaming sphere in midair sounds absurd, but it's just not well-defined in the rules. Similarly, putting a spirit on top of allies to get more to be...

If I gave a player any kind of at-will disarm due to their need for "simulationism", you'd better believe I'd start giving most weapon-using creatures backup weapons. After all, doesn't everyone carry a spare dagger in their boot? But seriously, I wouldn't slide the weapon more than a square...