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When calculating the appropriate EL for a challenge, the most practical method is to consider the cohort another character (at his level which will usually be at least two behind the PC). That is the way that will yield the most accurate guage of the difficulty of an encounter. (It will also...

it's not all power creep in the usual sense of the term. Before adventurer's vault, there were only a few superior weapons: A superior reach weapon flail A superior one-handed sword (that also happened to be ever so slightly superior to the two-handed sword because the greatsword is a lousy...

You're missing one of the most important motivations in human history: Glory. My current character in the age of worms started off doing a favor for a friend who had been rescued by our previous characters and had then not heard from them (they got TPKed). He is seeing it through to the end...

I think Tony is right about most of the rules, but I think it's pretty clear cut that entering the cloud causes damage whether or not the movement is voluntary. There is no general rule about forced movement into damaging terrain not causing damage. In fact, the general rule that creatures...

You could, but you end up as a more defensive tempest build by going with Dex rather than Wis. Keep in mind that it's really only one feat invested in defense and that feat contributes quite heavily towards offense as well. Two weapon defense is a bonus feat that all tempests get. Most...

Not quite. The tempest gains his bonuses in light armor or chainmail. I expect chainmail to be the default choice. And, despite the common presumption that the tempest fighter sacrifices defense for offense, he actually has better defenses than the typical 2handed weapon fighter. Chainmail=+6...

Tolkein: Morgroth, Feanor, Finrod Felagund, the witch king of angmar/lord of the ringwraiths, the mouth of Sauron, Denethor (steward of Gondor), and Elrond appear to have worn armor Gandalf did not, but his statement that no weapon the fellowship possessed could harm him after his return...

I think most people take both. For my part, I generally take Superior Weapon proficiency (or a different feat that grants the proficiencies) with my characters. Dwarf ranger: Dwarven weapon training and twin craghammer Human battle cleric: Superior weapon proficiency: fullblade Eladrin...

I would suspect that battlerager and barbarian have killed the two handed weapon talent fighter for hammer (and possibly axe) wielding fighters. Any great weapon fighter that was built to use hammers already had a high constitution and would gain great benefits from either the barbarian or the...

Yes. The teleport section of the PHB specifies that you can even teleport while immobilized by physical immobilizing effects.

Note the important maximum of one attack per opponent. The first time I saw this feat, a fellow player had overlooked that distinction and the resulting opportunist cascades were absolutely heinous. (At that table, my character's cohort was a rogue with opportunist but without this feat; even...

Mostly good mechanics in the expanded psionics handbook. A few broken powers but quite usable. That said, I would ONLY use them in Arcanis or another setting with a solid reason to have psionics. Not interested in it. At. All. No. Especially not if multiclassed. (In our Age of Worms game...

Double sword vs. Rapier vs. Parrying Dagger vs spiked shield vs. ordinary Dagger. Double Sword One feat. Defensive bonus. Same damage, access to HBO, and TWF and TWD, possible synergy with ranger multiclass. Rapier Second hand is free. Carry a ranged weapon for more flexibility. Carry a shield...

The big question is: what kind of a cleric are you? If you're focused on offensive spellcasting and healing in that order: Periapt of Wisdom +2 (4,000) Lesser rod of extend spell (3000--great for summon moster, swift march, mass conviction, spiritual weapon, magic circle vs. evil, and later on...

Death Knell. It's how animal sacrifice is done. (Especially by level 11 clerics just about to cast magic vestments and a chained greater magic weapon while using their bead of karma). It also creates a good explanation why some cultures might use euphoria or numbness producing drugs on their...

Actually, a high damage character with close quarters fighting has a decent shot at beating the grapple check. My halfling mutt has hit a grapple check in the mid fifties on CQF attacks at 12th level with a longsword. Remove the deliberately suboptimal halfling melee character element and tack...

On the other hand, the odds of you failing one save were typically pretty low by the time save or dies rolled around--with proper character construction, those odds were more typically around 5-20% than the 45% of a 4th edition save. In fourth edition, failing several saves in a row can still...

A lot will depend upon whether you think the "Every 20th level hero has some skill where he will be shown up by a 1st level commoner" is a bug or a feature. For my part, I like the fact that a high level fighter is not necessarily a skilled tracker and wouldn't necessarily know which way to...

The key thing is figuring how difficult you want the encounter to be. IME, an EL=party level encounter is a cakewalk. It's expected to eat only 20% of the party's resources and the party can easily handle four or five without being in danger. EL=party level +2 is a pretty standard challenge...

Here are a few things to consider before ninjaing the 4e skill challenge system. 1. There are a few mathematical problems inherent in the 4e skill challenge system. Stalker0 explored them in the excellent threads referenced above, but to give a preview, I think the most persuasive problems that...