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Message: <blockquote data-quote="VenezuelanWiz" data-source="post: 4087562" data-attributes="member: 55345">Hi all, -- Thanks Gary for the hours of fun I've had with D&D --I've been lurking since my friend and 3.5 GM pointed me here for 4E news. Given that he was rabid and generally matches my gaming tastes pretty well I've been following along avidly, the positive, negative, and ludicrous. A bit of a resume on me: I started with the Red Box beginer's set, graduated to 2E, and from there moved to 3.0, 3.5, Arcana Unearthed, Blue Rose, BESM, to name a few systems. I have DMed only two one offs before in 3.5, one at 5th lvl and one at 10th lvl. And I'm only 23. Go figure. Now to the crunchy bits:This past weekend I ran an online game for 4E with the preview characters and some modifications we made to some of the monsters. I ran it because I volunteered to take over our 3.x campaign and decided to run another online with my friends from college. I had three players each playing two characters. At the end of the post find the Rogue we created, as well as maps that I drew up with the initial placement of the "bad guys" attached. First off we stated out an Elf Rogue[lackhand did it] and I modified the Bandits/Guards to create a mook. I decided that having no HP made no sense, so I gave them 1HP. Felt better with the Cleave power the fighter has. I also wanted to use the bandits cause I'd seen several other reports where the kobolds were used. I stated two encounters in my head with hobgoblins but we never got that far. The chacaters were paired rogue-cleric, paladin-warlock, fighter-wizard. Just wanted everyone to get at least two "roles".Short of it is that I enjoyed DMing this adventure. I threw it together on Saturday afternoon, spent about two hours coming up with the encounters, another two hours preparing the maps and uploading them. The encounters proved challenging with minimal effort and work, and I got it right from just winging the number of "monsters" to send after the party the first time around. Some of the things I noticed was the party was still thinking in 3.x terms specially in movement, but they quickly got the hang of "oh I can take a hit to pull off an attack of my own" which was nice. We all had fun. I must say it felt different and the same from 3.x [see below for details]I'd like to say that making the mook wasn't a problem and took me all of 20 seconds once i saw the Kobold mook. I striped the bandits of their "sneak attack" and gave them a crossbow, so they were really a cross between the Guard and the Bandit.The first encounter involved the party being strung out between 4 Carts [thing Wagons from the days of the Gold rush] with families in them. They get "pulled over" by some toughs in the woods who've blocked the road with a log over the bridge. The characters were strung out over maybe 24m [16squares, 80', I don't care about the measurements you want to use]. I had them choose which wagon they were in before the fight and before I placed the bandits on the map. The fighter and Paladin were in the first wagon, cleric and warlock in the second, wizard in the third, rogue in the last.There were 4 bandits and 11 mooks in this fight which I calculated to be around 750xp. I figured from playtest reports that 600 and change was about what a 5 person party could take so I added some more to that. The plan of the bandits was to attack the front wagon with about 8 guys, and 7 more would attack the back two wagons. During the fight I put to good effect the bandits ability to Daze, which they did to the fighter causing him some pain as he got surrounded by a couple of other mooks and pressed against the side of the wagon, whereas on the other side of the wagon the combined attack by the Paladin and Warlock just crushed the bandits. The wizard got surrounded and we saw what Daze and sneak attack really did. The wizard spent his next two rounds trying to stay alive. The rogue did some shooting with the bow and some tumbling in to save the wizard as he got beaten to a pulp. Also the cleric's healing was effective and necessary in keeping the wizard alive. Wizard fell to 1 death token and his following time around he rolled 10+ so no change in his dying condition.This fight wasn't really too challenging for the PCs; Initially a few of the bandits/mooks attacked the other NPCs [unstated, it was autohit/autounconscious for them] as they would in reality, but when they realized the PCs were the real threat they focused on them. Playing online everything is slower [used google chat for communication and google documents/spreadsheet, for my battlegrid] so this battle took about 2hrs [also was 8am, so please bear with us for our slowness]Things I liked: The warlock flying around teleporting and causing mayhem. The Fighter being a fighter and taking 4 enemies focused attacks on himself and not faltering and eventually dispatching all [Cleave is the best tool against mooks]. I liked the mook mechanic a lot. It made for the cleric knocking two mooks flying from his wagon with his mace and for some very impressive shooting from the rogue.Things I wasn't sure about: the rogue seemed underpowered compared to the Ranger/Warlock in terms of striking ability. Maybe this was due to unlucky rolling. Dunno.Things I would change: Make sure the party can distinguish between mooks and real targets. This makes a big difference since they tend to focus on real targets first [more on the next fight]. I would have made the inside of the wagons difficult terrain + give CA to anyone in there given that there would be women and children scrambling every which way avoiding the fighting and being a general nuisaince [sp?]Things I would point out to new players: Use your /encounter abilities. You don't use 'em you lose 'em. Remember that " 5' step " is no longer an option. You need to shift.All in all it was a good encounter, there were about 5-6 healing surges used up, by the wizard, paladin, rogue, warlock combined, and no daily powers were used, and the Warlock and Rogue used Action Points.At this point they questioned the one captured [read he surrendered] bandit who told them that Bornis would kill him if he said anything. So they conked him over the head, and trussed up threw him in the back. They removed the log and went into town.Now here I had a social encounter and I tried to use the mechanics I've heard from D&D XP. That is you make multiple skill checks against DCs [I chose 20+-5 for success, marginal success, good success] If you don't want to hear it and just want the battles search for <^^^> which I'll put next to the last battle. They got into an argument with the mayor of the town when trying to "gather information" [ah the good ol' days of just having a die role and not needing roleplay. I jest. In case you missed that]. Turns out the mayor is senile and with some bad rolls is convinced the party is accusing his townsfolk of having laid in ambush for the party. After much backtracking he gets convinced there is a few outlaws around and asks the "Town Guard Captain" Garlin to have some men escort the new settlers [hence the wagons above] to their new land. Failing their insight [I rather them roll insight than my beating their defenses cause it was just easier online] they didn't notice that Garlin looked shocked at the mention of bandits and was in fact one of the two ringleaders in town.They then headed over to the guard house taking note of two guards on top of the houses accross the street and a few guards near the stables. The rogue snuck to the back of the guard house and got discovered by two guards he did not notice on the roof of said building and they had the drop on him with crossbow's trained.Inside ensued a rather comical discussion as the party decided whether to attack or not. Finally the Warlock flipped and attacked on discovering that the Captain inside was named Bornis [note captured bandit from above]<^^^>This battle consisted of the party fighting inside a 30' x 40' room with a 10'x10' table in it.The fight starts with the Paladin acting in the surprise round, but a readied action from Bornis allows him to throw the table across the room and stop the tiny paladin in his tracks [str. vs. ref.] Then the fun begins. The Rogue hearing the commotion, jumps throug the window and attacks Bornis immediately getting jumped by another mook near by. The Warlock starts getting shot from across the road, and the Wizard starts getting pummeled by a bandit.The battle becomes a giant cluster. The party was pinned from the outside by about 5 guys and two crossbowmen and had about 8 enemies on the inside. Garlin comes running from the tavern and the Warlock hits him with his daily power sending him flying. The wizard drops sleep slowing one bandit, and eventually putting another to sleep. The fighter slams the door shut only to have Garlin smash it open the next round so fire from across the way can hit the fighter in the doorway.The shining moment came when the warlock attacked Bornis from accross the room, droping him from healthy to nearly dead, and Bornis used his reaction power on getting bloodied to hit the rogue for a critical: 1d12+16+1d6 damage causing 27 pts of damage cause I forgot to add the last d6 knocking the rogue down in one blow. Following that the party quickly dispatched the rest with some encounter powers against the two large bezerkers and getting the rest of the bandits to cut and run to the fortress on the hill.This encounter was also stated out to be 750, and was again not too much of a challenge, altho it did seem to have the party a lot more worried given the cramped conditions and two axe wielding maniacs being nearby.Things I liked: I liked the bezerker/bandit sinergy. Also liked the mooks firing from across the way and the multiple entries through windows by bad guys getting in on the fight. Honestly ? I loved dropping the rogue in one blow. Was great ><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />. I loved the fact that the wizard and warlock were willing to just take a hit in order to get off a spell/power. It made for tense moments where the Wizard was saying "no crit, no crit" but given it was only a bandit with a mace nothing major would have happened to him otherwiseThings I wasn't sure about: The players seem to stay static. There was little moving around as advertised once people got into melee. People were thinking in 3.x terms still. Noone else decided to try the throwing the table around. I was hoping someone else did as well, possibly to block the door or against the bezerker in the corner. Oh well. Such is life.Things I would change: I would have used some "bezerker" mooks giving them the higher Attack bonus to hit the darn Paladin. It was nigh impossible to do so. Things I would point out to new players: Keep moving. Specially if you are a striker. The rogue tried to go toe to toe with a Brute and was the worse for wear. Defend your controllers. They are squishy and don't last long under serious fire.These are some of my mussings. There was a third encounter I stated out but we ran out of time [8hrs later]. We had some technical difficulties at a few points and that slowed us down + one of our players left, and another took his place, only to have to leave and be replaced by the original.Cheers,Name:Elf RogueLevel 1 UnalignedAbility Score:Strength        14    +2Constitution    11    +0Dexterity        18    +4Intelligence    12    +1Wisdom            14    +2Charisma        10    +0Armor Class            18Fortitude Defense    10Reflex Defense        16Will Defense        12Initiative            +4Speed (Squares)        7Hit Points:                23Bloodied:                 11Healing Surge HP Healed    5Healing Surges/Day        6        Second Wind [ ]Basic Attack Name:    Attack Bonus:    Damage:    Range/PropertiesLongbow                +6 vs AC        1d10+4    20 sq normal/40 sq maxDagger(melee)        +5 vs AC        1d4+2Dagger(thrown)        +7 vs AC        1d4+4    5 sq normal/10 sq maxEquipment: Studded Leather Armor, 8 daggers, Longbow, Quiver filled with arrows, backback, bedroll, fling and steel, belt pouch, 2 sunrods, 10 days' trail rations, 50 ft hempen rope, waterskin.Languages: Common, Elven, GoblinSkills:    Passive Insight        17    Passive Perception    19    Stealth         +5(trained) +4(dex)    Thievery         +5(trained) +4(dex)    Perception        +5(trained) +2(wis) +2(elf)            [remember your aura for other players!]    Acrobatics        +5(trained) +4(dex)    Athletics        +5(trained) +2(str)    Insight            +5(trained) +2(wis)    Nature            +1(int) +2(elfElven Weapon Training: Proficiency with Longbow and ShortbowWild Step: Ignore difficult terrain when you shift (even if you have a power that allows you to shift multiple squares)Group Awareness: All nonelves within 5 squares get a +1 racial to PerceptionFirst Strike: At start of encounter, combat advantage vs any creature not yet actedRogue Tactics: Brutal Scoundrel: Modify sneak attack by strengthRogue Weapon Talent: shuriken dice increase by 1, daggers get +1 bonus to attackSneak Attack: +2d6+strength damage 1/round vs foe on whom you have combat advantage. Use with only light blade, crossbow, or sling.2 at will: ==============================================    Deft StrikeRogue Attack 1A final lunge brings you into an advantageous position.At-Will [ ] Martial, WeaponStandard ActionMelee or Ranged weaponRequirement: You must be wielding a crossbow, a light blade, or a sling.Target: One creatureSpecial: You can move 2 squares before the attack.Attack: Dexterity vs. AC (+7 with knife melee OR ranged)Hit: 1d4 + 4 modifier damage.    Piercing StrikeRogue Attack 1A needle-sharp point slips past armor and into tender flesh.At-Will [ ] Martial, WeaponStandard ActionMelee weaponRequirement: You must be wielding a light blade.Target: One creatureAttack: Dexterity vs. Reflex (+7 with knife melee)Hit: 1d4 + 4 modifier damage.2 per encounter: =========================================    Torturous StrikeRogue Attack 1If you twist the blade in the wound just so, you can make your enemy howl in pain.Encounter [ ] Martial, WeaponStandard ActionMelee weaponRequirement: You must be wielding a light blade.Target: One creatureAttack: Dexterity vs. AC (+7 with knife melee)Hit: 2d4 + 4 + 2 (strength) modifier damage.    Elven Accuracy:Elf Racial PowerWith an instant of focus, you take careful aim at your foe and strike with the legendary accuracy of the elves.Encounter [ ]Free ActionPersonalEffect: Reroll an attack roll. Use the second roll, even if it's lower(You get a +2 to this roll from Elven Precision, your feat)1 per day: ==============================================Trick Strike:COMPLETELY MADE UP POWER1/dayRogue Attack 1Per Day [ ] Martial, WeaponStandard ActionMelee weaponRequirement: You must be wielding a light blade.Target: One creatureAttack: Dexterity vs. Will (+7 with knife melee)Hit: 2d4 + 4 + 2 (strenth) modifier damage. You have combat advantage against the foe for this strike.feat: Elven Precision [Elf]Make Elven Accuracy rerolls with a +2 bonus.EDIT: Readability</blockquote>

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