[4E] Doom of Delban damages

[Shini Selune]

Hi everyone
I was looking to the level 29 daily spell named "Doom of Delban" available to warlocks (first player handbook) with one of my friends and we struggled to understand it.
The spell deals 5D10 + constitution modifier cold damage and half damage on miss.
Then you can sustain it for a standard action and the effect says "You can attack the same target or switch to a new target within range. Make an attack (as above) and increase the cold damage by 1d10 each time this power hits. Each time you sustain this power, you take 2d10 damage."
For me, you add 1d10 cumulative damages each time you hit your target but for my friend you add 1d10 non cumulative damages each time you hit.
If lets say you get to use the spell and then sustain it twice, i would think it deals 5d10+constitution damages, then 6d10 and then 7d10 and my friend thinks it would deal 5d10 then 6d10 then 6d10 again.

 

[hirou]

(You should probably specify that you're talking about 4e in the topic/badge of the thread)

I agree with your interpretation. If the additional 1d10 is non-cumulative, as your friend suggests, the power would simply read "Make an attack as above, but with 6d10+constitution modifier damage"

 

[Shini Selune]

Oops fair point for the title i kinda forgot about it ^^

Thanks for your reply

 

[Joshua Randall]

Like many 4e Warlock powers, this one is written strangely, so I don't think we can give a knock-down rules-as-written answer.

However given that this is a level 29 power I would err on the side of making it awesome. 5d10+Con cold damage with no riders is pretty terrible for a capstone power. Sustain Standard is also terrible (you are giving up your attack action on subsequent turns, to repeat a lame attack power). Taking 2d10 damage to sustain is also terrible.

The *least* the power can do in return is increased to 6d10, 7d10, 8d10, etc. on subsequent turns. This is still a terrible waste of your standard action, but at least it's *something*.

That's my interpretation, anyway, and how I would rule this as a DM.