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  1. Psikus

    D&D 4E 4E feats vs Essential Feats. A list?

    Well, perhaps errata doesn't cover the full text of the Rules Compendium (though I'm pretty certain that all functional changes have been addressed this way), but I was under the impression that every rules element (feats, powers, races...) changed by Heroes of X had been included in an errata...
  2. Psikus

    D&D 4E 4E feats vs Essential Feats. A list?

    There was errata for that when Heroes of the Fallen Lands was released. You can read the Essentials-related changes here.
  3. Psikus

    MM3 minion damage expressions?

    Well, there is not a set formula for that, but we can look at similar existing monsters. Staying alive for a single extra turn (or getting off a free attack) is pretty much free. There is also precedent of monsters that can, unreliably, prevent their death once per encounter (Zombie Shambler...
  4. Psikus

    Runepriests

    The current selection of rune feats is, overall, weak and narrow. In my opinion, one of the main problems is that you only get 8 of them. Normally, that wouldn't be a bad amount of class feats, but, by nature, the rune feats will take up almost all of your slots, or none at all - and they just...
  5. Psikus

    Runepriests

    Like: - Its depth and complexity. I'd say the Rpriest is tied with the shaman as the most complex class in the game. You effectively have twice as many powers as normal (since each one has two distinct options), and you have to balance these effects with the rune state you want to have each...
  6. Psikus

    MM3 minion damage expressions?

    I worked out a damage formula from MM3 minion data while ago. It is different from the one in DMG2, which was to be expected... but what surprised me is that it seems like MM2 minions also follow it, so the DMG2 formulas were obsolete on release! It is the following: Minion Damage (normal) = 4+...
  7. Psikus

    List of Broken Powers

    Nice analysis. It bears mentioning that higher level encounters doesn't automatically translate into higher level monsters (since you can just add more enemies), so the power's effectiveness in tough fights can be a bit higher than your numbers suggest. It also wrecks any monster based on...
  8. Psikus

    Would you be interested in a 3e / 4e hybrid (evolution)?

    I'm quite content with 4E as it is, so I wouldn't have any interest in playing such a hybrid. That said, the question of how that intermediate edition could look like is intriguing, from a game design standpoint (warning: wall of text incoming). In my opinion, this hybrid edition would have to...
  9. Psikus

    List of Broken Powers

    Another reason for having so many cleric posers in the black list is that overpowered defensive powers are less obvious targets for errata their offensive analogues. Stuff that deals too much damage are easy to spot for the errata team, but examples of nerfed defensive options are far more rare-...
  10. Psikus

    D+D Power Creep

    Mostly, yes. The issue isn't really power creep - as has been explained above, PHB has some of the strongest classes/builds in the game and a bunch of awesome feats. Its paragon paths in particular tend to be miles above those in other books. However, you should be aware that there are also a...
  11. Psikus

    List of Broken Powers

    I brought up bullrush because it is the one method that all characters have to move enemies around - it's just that it's usually too weak to be considered an acceptable solution. This follows a similar line of reasoning to your mention of grabbing with minions... and suffers from similar...
  12. Psikus

    List of Broken Powers

    That is an interesting point (I haven't seen CaGI in play since the damage boost), but it may be more of a sign of reckless strategies than a defect of the power. Since using forced movement is always optional, a player can choose to leave as many enemies as needed out of the power effect. So...
  13. Psikus

    List of Broken Powers

    There is no start of turn damage. Unlike many other wizard dailies, Fountain of Flame deals its damage at the end of turn, giving enemies a chance to avoid it. Granted, it can still be comboed with a fighter or cavalier to punish enemies even if they flee, but I'd say it's a significant...
  14. Psikus

    Unified Tables of Combat Stats

    Not a unified table with all stats, but I have done some work on attacks and defenses, using normalized (i.e. level-independent) notation and providing average hit rates and guidelines to say whether a stat is above or below expectations. You can find it here. As for attack damage, I made a...
  15. Psikus

    Current Monster Design Rules

    This doesn't cover the whole monster building process, but for monster damage, I find it useful to work with average damage values rather than tables with damage expressions. The latest progression can be reduced to very simple formulas (i.e. 8+level damage, for normal monsters), so it's easy to...
  16. Psikus

    A short guide to the Essential Thief's movement tricks

    I'd like to add a few random comments: - Not much has been said about how the tricks interact with charging. Unlike rogues of old, thieves do not need to give up their fancy powers in order to charge - rather, they get the full benefits of their tricks, plus a free +1 to the attack roll...
  17. Psikus

    Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms

    Is it true that druids only get one at-will power? What options are there for the slot? Can you show us some examples of Wilderness Knacks (a feature for rangers and druids)? Are there any cool Hexblade attacks? Everything we have seen, apart from the summoned ally, seems to be very bland...
  18. Psikus

    Slayer build sillyness

    That is a good point, though I think thrown weapons are also relevant to the discussion. If you intend to go all the way and spend feats for ranged proficiency, expertise, and what not, the Dex build is clearly better for ranged attacks. However, if you just play a melee-focused character which...
  19. Psikus

    D&D 4E Which 4e books do you think are must-haves?

    Not that it will make any difference, since you already have it, but in my opinion, the first Monster Manual can no longer be considered a must-have. It's the book that has taken the largest hit from the monster design evolution: most of its solos and minions feel lacking, and you'd want to make...
  20. Psikus

    Ray of Frost, Scorching Burst and Phantom Bolt are Dead

    Oddly, that would be a nerf for some wizards! Enlarge Spell (every pyromancer's favourite feat) has a penalty to damage that scales with number of dice, so that the enlarged Scorching Burst would actually deal less damage under your version.
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