[4e] covaithe's E1: Death's Reach

[CaBaNa]

Is the Eberron players guide an open source?

[sblock=EDIT: Updated Orelal "Massacre" Lunareth, and such...]

My character builder is working again! Yay!

====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======
Orelal "Massacre" Lunareth, level 21
Eladrin, Wizard, Divine Oracle, Archlich
Arcane Implement Mastery: Orb of Imposition
Arcane Admixture Damage Type: Arcane Admixture Thunder
Birth - Among Another Race: Among Another Race (Shadar-kai)
Arcane Admixture Power: Chilling Cloud
Quickened Spellcasting: Thunderwave
Background: Birth - Among Another Race (Among Another Race (Shadar-kai))

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 10, Con 12, Dex 15, Int 28, Wis 20, Cha 12.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 8, Con 10, Dex 11, Int 18, Wis 14, Cha 10.


AC: 35 Fort: 26 Reflex: 34 Will: 35
HP: 102 Surges: 10 Surge Value: 26

TRAINED SKILLS
Perception +25, Arcana +26, History +26, Stealth +19, Insight +20, Religion +24

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Acrobatics +12, Bluff +11, Diplomacy +11, Dungeoneering +15, Endurance +11, Heal +15, Intimidate +11, Nature +15, Streetwise +11, Thievery +12, Athletics +10

FEATS
Wizard: Ritual Caster
Level 1: Enlarge Spell
Level 2: Dual Implement Spellcaster
Level 4: Improved Initiative
Level 6: Arcane Familiar
Level 8: Twist the Arcane Fabric (retrained to Fey Step Trailblazer at Level 20)
Level 10: Initiate of the Faith
Level 11: Destructive Wizardry
Level 12: Durable
Level 14: Paragon Defenses
Level 16: Resounding Thunder
Level 18: Arcane Admixture
Level 20: War Wizardry (retrained to Quickened Spellcasting at Level 21)
Level 21: Spell Accuracy

POWERS
Wizard at-will 1: Chilling Cloud
Wizard at-will 1: Thunderwave
Wizard encounter 1: Grasping Shadows
Wizard daily 1: Horrid Whispers
Wizard utility 2: Shield
Wizard utility 2 Spellbook: Expeditious Retreat
Wizard encounter 3: Color Spray
Wizard daily 5: Grasp of the Grave
Wizard utility 6: Wizard's Escape
Wizard utility 6 Spellbook: Dispel Magic
Wizard encounter 7: Twist of Space
Wizard daily 9: Face of Death
Wizard daily 9 Spellbook: Visions of Ruin
Wizard utility 10: Feywild Spell Surge
Wizard utility 10 Spellbook: Repelling Shield
Wizard encounter 13: Orbmaster's Umbral Assault (replaces Grasping Shadows)
Wizard daily 15: Prismatic Beams (replaces Grasp of the Grave)
Wizard daily 15 Spellbook: Shunt Between Worlds
Wizard utility 16: Displacement
Wizard utility 16 Spellbook: Clever Escape
Wizard encounter 17: Furnace of Sand (replaces Twist of Space)
Wizard daily 19: Evard's Black Tentacles (replaces Horrid Whispers)
Wizard daily 19 Spellbook: Disintegrate

ITEMS
Spellbook, Robe of Eyes Efreetweave Armor +5, Cloak of Distortion +4, Orb of Mental Dominion +5, Carcanet of Psychic Schism (paragon tier), Belt of Vigor (heroic tier), Orb of Inescapable Consequences +2, Boots of Eagerness (heroic tier), Eladrin Ring of Passage (paragon tier), Gloves of Eldritch Admixture (heroic tier), Symbol of Hope +1, Bracers of Mental Might (heroic tier)
RITUALS
Forbiddance, Planar Portal, Guards and Wards, Create Teleportation Circle, Reverse Portal, Conceal Object, Remove Affliction, Raise Dead, Linked Portal, Analyze Portal, Undead Servitor, Speak with Dead, Leomund's Secret Chest, Fey Passage, Disenchant Magic Item, Cure Disease, Bolster Object, Knock, Arcane Lock, Preservation, Secret Page, Make Whole, Comprehend Language, Brew Potion, Safeguard, Mordenkainen's Joining, Discern Lies, Stasis Shell, Aura Mask, Wizard's Escape, Solace Bole, Seeming, Banish Illusions, Inquisitive's Eyes
====== Copy to Clipboard and Press the Import Button on the Summary Tab ======

He has a few more rituals and lost the mount. I saved 33,535.00 gold to pay for my ritual expenses. Do I have to buy mundane equipment, I don't think so, but before I go on an adding spree, I thought it prudent to check.

Out of that 33,535.00 gold I'll be creating my Domain of Dread, Tower, Phylactery Enchantments, Trinkets of Interest, and Teleportation Portals.

Orelal is working on the Oath that would be required to enter his domain. Covaithe: Do you mind if I use a refluffed version of Pact of the Iron Ring ritual from FRCG?

I'll have a full list of what rituals Orelal has cast, in what order, and how much they cost, as soon as the backstories come together. Orelal will need to know how many participants he'll have in each of his rituals.


Covaithe will there be any NPC's who may have visited Massacre in the past? For reasons of warding, and of my teleportation circle. Trying to decide how strict to be on the warding, and how large to go on the teleportation circle...

I looked up the Baelnorn, WOW. Crazy creature.

This probably won't be the last version of this character, as his backstory changes and morphs into a final product, his rituals, powers, and feats are subject to change. I'll email you the final dnd4e file Covaithe.


[/sblock]

 

[covaithe]

Catching up on unanswered questions. If I've missed any, please remind me.

Toss up, you're the DM so you get to make the call. What are Orelal "Massacre" Lunareth's creature origin keywords?

We'll go with both fey and undead.

A question: Gloves of the Healer, AV p 135. Does the healing bonus only apply to powers where the target of the power is the recipient of healing, like healing word or mass cure light wounds? Or does the healing bonus also apply to powers such as healing strike, where healing happens as a result of the power but it isn't the "target" that gets healed?

It applies to powers with the Healing keyword, so healing strike applies. We'll use common sense about who gets the extra healing.

Orelal already has a chest... but I'm open to the idea depending on how Covaithe takes it.

This is the shared Leomund's Secret Chest, where several people can summon it? Yeah, that's fine. Would you guys have performed the ritual beforehand, or is this something you would do after the party is formed, as part of your preparations for whatever it is that you're going to do?

Looking at LSC, it looks like, as written, you have to have a chest worth 200g that gets expended to summon your actual chest. But that seems silly; surely the chest component is used during the process of mastering the ritual, not performing the ritual that summons your chest.

I also took Improved grab for sheer fun, I doubt I'll use it in combat. In that regard, here's a request for a custom magic item, covaithe. I looked with interest at a couple of items in AV, the Goliath's belt and the Giant Gloves (which are listed in my equipment). Would it be possible to merge their effects in a ring? I still have some more money to spend so a bit higher-level item is fine.

I'm going to say no to this. I couldn't find any rings with remotely comparable powers, and 4e completely lacks any suggestions for how to go about creating custom magic items. I think there are better things to be doing with my time than inventing such rules.

Finally, I didn't like any of the PHB2 backgrounds much, is it okay to make my own?
Shameless Scoundrel: Anostor abandoned his country, his army, his father, wife, and a huge quantity of illegittimate sons. Benefit: Bluff is selectable as a trained skill.

Sure, that's fine.

Here's the basic sheet for Kylek. I might still move some stuff around and I still have to get some ritual components and potions but the basic gist is there. The only Dragon Magazine material I used is Reaper's Touch instead of Sorcerous Blade Channeling since I'm using a rod as my main implement. The rod's the only real "trick" here, to make everything frosty. Should be a steady consistent offense with a decent defense, nothing too goofy.

Reaper's touch seems all right in this context. I'm a little concerned about Lasting Frost / Wintertouched combined with all that cold. It looks like powers whose damage type is changed by the Rod of the Dragonborn don't actually gain the Cold keyword, which helps a lot. I'm still vaguely worried, though. Should I be? I'll withhold judgement until you finish the character sheet, at least.

Is the Eberron players guide an open source?

Uh, I guess so. Does the CB have this content yet? I don't have the EPG yet, so if you use something from it, I'd appreciate if you could point it out for me so I can look it up in the compendium.

Orelal is working on the Oath that would be required to enter his domain. Covaithe: Do you mind if I use a refluffed version of Pact of the Iron Ring ritual from FRCG?

Sure, if you want, but... What does the curse for breaking it actually do? "Your peers consider you pactbroken" doesn't seem like much of a curse to me. Besides, a Remove Affliction ritual gets you out of it, and that doesn't seem terribly hard to come by for an epic character.

I'm thinking you probably have something in mind where you use an item as a focus, and do a quick ritual where the other participant swears not to track mud on the carpets or whatever, and thereafter when they're wearing the item, your wards will not affect them. If they break the oath, the item crumbles to dust and your wards will affect them thereafter. Is that about what you have in mind?

Covaithe will there be any NPC's who may have visited Massacre in the past? For reasons of warding, and of my teleportation circle. Trying to decide how strict to be on the warding, and how large to go on the teleportation circle...

Probably not, at least not since you went undead. It sounds like you want your lich-ness, and subsequent fortifications, to be a recent thing and fairly secretive.

Necrotic Transference and Darklord from Dragon 372?

Yes, those are ok.

Shadar-kai race and feats? Punisher of the Gods?

I'll allow these. I reserve the right to nerf Punisher of the Gods after seeing it in play, but if I do you'll get a chance to switch.

 

[stonegod]

Uh, I guess so. Does the CB have this content yet? I don't have the EPG yet, so if you use something from it, I'd appreciate if you could point it out for me so I can look it up in the compendium.

The EPG material was added yesterday.

I'll allow these. I reserve the right to nerf Punisher of the Gods after seeing it in play, but if I do you'll get a chance to switch.

Thanks!

 

[Oni]

Reaper's touch seems all right in this context. I'm a little concerned about Lasting Frost / Wintertouched combined with all that cold. It looks like powers whose damage type is changed by the Rod of the Dragonborn don't actually gain the Cold keyword, which helps a lot. I'm still vaguely worried, though. Should I be? I'll withhold judgement until you finish the character sheet, at least.

About the Rod of the Dragonborn and keywords. It is my understanding that powers gain keywords based on the type of damage they deal. So if you add a type or change a type of damage for a power you also add the appropriate keyword. So when I built him I was operating under that notion.

That said, I don't think it's something to worry about. The feats are actually being used as intended for once, a caster and not some melee cheese (i.e multi-attacks out the wazoo or sneak attacks without flanking et c). The party hasn't loaded up on frost weapons to abuse it. I actually had to take a less powerful implement to make this work than I otherwise would have done. I.E. compare Rod of the Dragonborn +4 vs Rod of the Star Spawn +5 for instance. And it only applies to targets that have been hit within the previous round anyway. Even with the feat, I think you can expect a pretty normal level of striker damage, rather than some of the silly things you can actually do with a sorcerer.

I think you'll find with those feats that Kylek has good consistent damage due to accuracy, but Ata's Barb is going to blow him out of the water when it comes to burst. I've been looking over his sheet to make sure they were roughly comparable (not wanting to overshadow, or be overshadowed) and I think they are.

 

[covaithe]

About the Rod of the Dragonborn and keywords. It is my understanding that powers gain keywords based on the type of damage they deal. So if you add a type or change a type of damage for a power you also add the appropriate keyword. So when I built him I was operating under that notion.

Hmm. You must be right, or there wouldn't be any problem with Frost weapons and LF/WT. It's slightly irksome that I couldn't find chapter and verse on this, though.

That said, I don't think it's something to worry about. The feats are actually being used as intended for once, a caster and not some melee cheese (i.e multi-attacks out the wazoo or sneak attacks without flanking et c). The party hasn't loaded up on frost weapons to abuse it. I actually had to take a less powerful implement to make this work than I otherwise would have done. I.E. compare Rod of the Dragonborn +4 vs Rod of the Star Spawn +5 for instance. And it only applies to targets that have been hit within the previous round anyway. Even with the feat, I think you can expect a pretty normal level of striker damage, rather than some of the silly things you can actually do with a sorcerer.

I think you'll find with those feats that Kylek has good consistent damage due to accuracy, but Ata's Barb is going to blow him out of the water when it comes to burst. I've been looking over his sheet to make sure they were roughly comparable (not wanting to overshadow, or be overshadowed) and I think they are.

Ok, I'll trust you. I'm sure you're better at predicting effective damage than I am.

So, where do we stand? Here are the currently submitted characters:

Guaranteed spots:

• Cabana: "Massacre" Lunareth, Eladrin Wizard/Divine Oracle/Archlich
• Sessadore: Sarenax the Reaper, Dragonborn Cleric/Angelic Avenger/Harbinger of Doom or Darklord
• Ata: Anostor Duran, human Rageblood Barbarian/Adroit Explorer/Eternal defender
• Oni: Kylek the Ice Lord, Dragonborn, Sorcerer(Draconic)/Blizzard Mage/Demigod
• renau1g: on vacation

Candidates for the last spot:

• stonegod: Batin, Shadar-kai, Swordmage, Ghost Blade, Punisher of the Gods
• Pyrex: half elf prescient bard / Adroit Explorer / Eternal Seeker, lots of multiclass.

I don't think anyone's sheet is really-actually-finished yet, but some of them are getting close. I note that the only defender listed is stonegod's swordmage. Anyone know what renau1g had in mind to play?

 

[Lord Sessadore]

It applies to powers with the Healing keyword, so healing strike applies. We'll use common sense about who gets the extra healing.

Alright, sounds good. The powers Sarenax has that I think it applies to are Strengthen the Faithful and Inspiring Strike for attack powers. I think it's clear that it applies to utility powers and Healing Word, where the 'target' gets healed.

This is the shared Leomund's Secret Chest, where several people can summon it? Yeah, that's fine. Would you guys have performed the ritual beforehand, or is this something you would do after the party is formed, as part of your preparations for whatever it is that you're going to do?

Looking at LSC, it looks like, as written, you have to have a chest worth 200g that gets expended to summon your actual chest. But that seems silly; surely the chest component is used during the process of mastering the ritual, not performing the ritual that summons your chest.

I would think it's something we would do after the party is formed, as part of our preparations. Unless we were particularly close before now, but it does sound like Orelal has secluded himself for at least a year. Cabana, Oni, what do you think?

Also, is it possible to know the ritual once, and have different chests that you can summon? For example, let's say if Sarenax and/or Kylek had their own chests before the party was formed, could Orelal let us study his chest and then we'd be able to choose whether to summon his chest or our own chest when the ritual is performed? Just curious ... I haven't thought of a need for a chest for just myself yet, so I'm not necessarily planning to do this.

Necrotic Transference and Darklord from Dragon 372?

Yes, those are ok.

Thanks! I'm going to switch to Darklord and take Necrotic Transference, then. This could be interesting in combination with Orelal - the fluff on Darklord sounds like I get a domain in the Shadowfell, which means we'd have two domains in the Shadowfell.

Do you have to do anything mechanically to set up a domain? Either way, I think I'd get someone to create a permanent TP circle in Sarenax's domain, if he has one. He could have hired Orelal to do this or someone else, or just bought a scroll and did it himself, doesn't matter much to me. Having Orelal do it would be cool for tying the party together, though.

Edit: I suppose you could interpret Darklord as making you master of a domain at the peak of the epic destiny, instead of at the beginning. I'm not sure it makes a huge difference, but if you'd rather we didn't have another domain int he Shadowfell, that's fine. I don't see much advantage in having a domain in the Shadowfell as opposed to a base of operations in the material world, just an idea I'm throwing around. I don't think we particularly need another base of operations - Orelal already has a tower, and it sounds like Kylek probably has some sort of keep at least.

I don't think anyone's sheet is really-actually-finished yet, but some of them are getting close. I note that the only defender listed is stonegod's swordmage. Anyone know what renau1g had in mind to play?

I believe renau1g said in the Monster Mash thread that he either wanted to play a cleric of the Raven Queen blush, or a defender of some kind.

 

[CaBaNa]

I like the idea of Orelal knowing most everyone in the party before his ritual, most of them could even have helped him to create his "home". That way they could be included in most of the rituals.

L.S.: I think you are trapped in your domain at the end of your epic destiny. The domain is available at all times before as well. -Sarenax could be Massacre's neighbor!- You could borrow my teleportation circle...

Massacre has secluded himself for two and a half years, but preparations have been under way for over five decades, that is when the other characters would have been asked to help put together the keep, in return for some ritual or other service later on. Everyone involved swears an Oath that bestows a ring, the basic of the Oath is that participants will not harm one another directly or indirectly.

If everyone is ok with it, the leomund's secret chest could have been made on a previous adventure, when our Paragon crew, was called together for some great task. Or when I hired out to build the tower.

(Everyone who was involved knew that one room was overly enchanted, and when asked Massacre replied that My most powerful magics will be done in the fortification of that room. However nobody was specifically told that there would be a phylactery or that the room would be it's resting place. )

Ata: I'd like to tie Orelal to Anostor Duran in some way, maybe having to do with his long exploring/exploiting career. I thought that maybe Anostor Duran could have been the one to help when Massacre's shadow found a way to cut the strings and run off. (The shadow is Massacre's familiar, who will pretty much always be in passive mode for RP reasons.)

Oni: Orelal is becoming very adept with Thunder as this goes along, would it be in Kylek's character to have tutored Massacre on elemental control?

I'm a big fan of Stonegod and Pyrex's builds, however we need a defender currently, so that takes precedince.

If Ren takes Defender Role, it will come down to backstory for the last character.

 

[Oni]

Hmm. You must be right, or there wouldn't be any problem with Frost weapons and LF/WT. It's slightly irksome that I couldn't find chapter and verse on this, though.

I think you'll find what you're looking for under the keywords section on page 55 and under the powers subsection on magic items on page 226.

Ok, I'll trust you. I'm sure you're better at predicting effective damage than I am.

I appreciate the vote of confidence, if anything is terribly off we can change it if it becomes a problem.

I don't think we particularly need another base of operations - Orelal already has a tower, and it sounds like Kylek probably has some sort of keep at least.

Kylek resides in a huge temple ziggeraut thingummy at the center of a walled city. I imagine it as mostly fluff though. All the revenues of the city and temple go back into running them (or were already counted in his starting wealth). He's pretty (over?)confident and things like wards and such he just hasn't bothered with beyond the mundane things like guards. Being a city I'm assuming there's a teleportation circle, though I've not factored that in wealth wise. No one else there is powerful enough to contribute in a meaningful way to an epic level adventure (part of why he's regarded with awe in Ch'thuul). In short the place really doesn't have much to offer as a base of operations other than a (fancy) roof and possibly some hot Sword & Sorcery style slave girls and temple priestesses.

That's the way I envision it anyway, it could be made into more if the group so desired to put the resources into it.

Everyone involved swears an Oath that bestows a ring, the basic of the Oath is that participants will not harm one another directly or indirectly.

Heh, make sure you fine tune the wording so you don't curse yourself by being overly aggressive AoE spells.

Oni: Orelal is becoming very adept with Thunder as this goes along, would it be in Kylek's character to have tutored Massacre on elemental control?

It's possible he might have done something like that when he was a full time adventurer, before he got on his god kick.

 

[CaBaNa]

Massacre would gladly install a teleportation circle in Ch'thuul, quid pro quo, Kylek takes part in a few rituals to strengthen his strong hold.
The first square is free, each subsequent square is 1000gp.


Everyone:
If you want to be allowed inside Massacre's Domain, your character would have to have met with each other character that participated, during the ritual ceremony that created it. This is due to the nature of the Rituals being used.

One of the rituals used will be Leomund's Secret Chest, anyone present would donate an item, and be able to summon the chest.

 

[Oni]

covaithe, while we're on the topic of keywords and Lasting Frost, I've a couple questions on the finer points of the rules and how you want to handle them.

First Lasting Frost (and similar feats). My current reading of the rules is that an attack is farther broken down into parts that occur in sequence, but are actually separate events. This seems to be the general consensus and is necessary for attacks to interrupted midstream by some powers are they are. However it also leads to some weirdness like Echoes of Thunder and Lasting Frost being applied on the initial attack that activates them. Having given it some thought, I don't believe that was the intent. Personally I'm leaning more and more toward on hit powers being applied along with the hit line of a power, rather than immediately upon fulfilling the requirement (so that they don't apply to the initial attack), but wanted to see how you're doing it since it is pertinent.

Secondly keywords. It seems like we're in agree about adding keywords, but what the rules don't mention is losing keywords (no reason it should, there is nothing in the PHB to warrant it). The rod of the dragonborn doesn't add a damage type, it changes the damage type. It seems logical to me that instead of adding a keyword, that it should replace the keywords related to damage type. The upside is less immunities to worry about, the downside is less ways to sidestep a particular resistance. And it avoids some weirdness such a fire immune creature being immune to cold damage, because the power still has the fire keyword. What is your opinion on the matter, as it is again pertinent.

Well that's enough minutia for me, I think I might make the Lasting Frost/ Echoes of Thunder fix a L4W proposal.