D&D 4E 4e Playtest Characters

[Dragonbait]

Great work so far. I know it's hypothetical, but it's still great. What skill list are you pulling from, TRRW?

 

[theredrobedwizard]

Arcana (K: Arcana, Spellcraft)
Acrobatics (Balance, Tumble, Escape Artist)
Athletics (Swim, Climb, Jump)
Deception (Bluff, Forgery, Disguise)
Diplomacy (Diplomacy, Perform, Intimidate)
Dungeoneering (K: Arch & Eng, K: Dungeoneering)
Endurance (Concentration)
Heal
Insight (Sense Motive, Appraise)
Initiative
Nature (K:Nat, Survival, Handle Animal)
Sleight of Hand (Open Lock, Pick Pocket, Disable Device)
Perception (Spot, Listen, Search)
Religion
Ride
Stealth
Streetwise (K: Local, Gather Information)

-TRRW

 

[Dr. Confoundo]

To hit bonus seems very big for 1st level characters, between +4 and +6. But they seem correct, according to everything I've read about 4e. I guess that we will get used to that, but for now I find it curious.

That's about normal for 3.5. Your standard first level fighter usually has about a +5 (+3 for a 16 Strength, +1 for BAB, and a +1 for Weapon Focus), and thats a conservative estimate.

 

[HeinorNY]

Forgot about that.

Also forgot that touch attacks are now agaisnt reflex saves rather than AC.

Interesting...

Which also tell us that AC and Reflex, if not all defenses, will have the same level progression.

 

[Loincloth of Armour]

Very thoughtful work. A few questions though:

Fey Leap: [Move Action] - Teleport to any unoccupied square within 8 squares of your current space.

Although I have no proof, this is likely to be something Line of Sight only. A 4E goal is to cut down on 'game breaking' abilities, and being able to 'port through doors, walls, etc can be game-bending if not entirely breaking.

Per Encounter:
Second Wind: [Immediate Action] - When at or below Bloodied, regain 14 HP.

Star War has Second Wind as 1/day, and that gaming universe has even less healing than a standard DnD party. What made you decide Second Wind should be 1/encounter?

And from the playtest Tower under the Tor it looked like Second Wind was swift rather than immdiate as the healing only happened on their turn (IIRC).

 

[HeinorNY]

Second Wind: [Immediate Action] - When at or below Bloodied, regain 10 HP.

That irks me.
What if the character is 1 point above Bloodied? Does he wait to be hit again so then he may heal himself??
Does he bite himself dealing 1 pt of damage in order to be able to heal himself?????

 

[theredrobedwizard]

Very thoughtful work. A few questions though:

Although I have no proof, this is likely to be something Line of Sight only. A 4E goal is to cut down on 'game breaking' abilities, and being able to 'port through doors, walls, etc can be game-bending if not entirely breaking.

Star War has Second Wind as 1/day, and that gaming universe has even less healing than a standard DnD party. What made you decide Second Wind should be 1/encounter?

And from the playtest Tower under the Tor it looked like Second Wind was swift rather than immdiate as the healing only happened on their turn (IIRC).

Fey Leap: All abilities are Line of Sight by default in my assumptions. Sorry, should have been more clear.

Second Wind: I remember reading a reference to Second Wind being a per encounter thing. In trying to streamline terminology, I replaced the term Swift/Free action with Immediate; mostly for this playtest. Ease of use for newbies and all. You're most likely correct in that in 4e proper, Second Wind will probably be a Swift/Free action useable only on one's own turn.

The design team said there'd be less direct combat healing, so Second Wind would be picking up the bulk of it (also lessening the Action Debt on the Healer/Leader).

Thanks for the questions. Everything pointed out helps to streamline and refine the characters before Tuesday's playtest.

-TRRW

 

[theredrobedwizard]

That irks me.
What if the character is 1 point above Bloodied? Does he wait to be hit again so then he may heal himself??
Does he bite himself dealing 1 pt of damage in order to be able to heal himself?????

That's one of the eccentricities of the system, but that's how any threshhold system is going to work, really. The theory is, HP above the Bloodied line isn't physical damage, but exertion and the like. Damage below the Bloodied threshhold is actual physical damage. Second Wind turns actual physical damage into exertion. "It's just a fleshwound" or "The cut wasn't nearly as deep as I'd thought" type stuff.

I'm working on some ideas right now involving a Cleric talent tree focused on healing, wherein they may treat any ally as Bloodied. Probably at a bit higher level, where the difference between Bloodied and Full is higher.

-TRRW

 

[HeinorNY]

That's one of the eccentricities of the system, but that's how any threshhold system is going to work, really. The theory is, HP above the Bloodied line isn't physical damage, but exertion and the like. Damage below the Bloodied threshhold is actual physical damage. Second Wind turns actual physical damage into exertion. "It's just a fleshwound" or "The cut wasn't nearly as deep as I'd thought" type stuff.

I'm working on some ideas right now involving a Cleric talent tree focused on healing, wherein they may treat any ally as Bloodied. Probably at a bit higher level, where the difference between Bloodied and Full is higher.

-TRRW

Ok, but what if characters could use Second Wind anytime they wanted, and not only when below bloodied?

What it Second Wind in D&D didn't heal an specific amount of HPs but actually put the character that was below bloodied back to 1 point of HP over the bloodied condition, but never above that, so techniaclly "curing" the bloodied condition?

If Second Wind in D&D is an encounter power, how often could a character use it outside combat? If it let the character heal all lost HPs up to 1 point over bloodied, this particular issue would be solved.

If it's a daily power, than maybe it's not that good at all, at least for D&D.

Just some random thougths though...

 

[Nikosandros]

Which also tell us that AC and Reflex, if not all defenses, will have the same level progression.

R&C confirmed a single progression (+1/2 per level) for AC, defenses, skill checks and attacks.