Ampersand: Sneak Attack

[cthulhu_duck]

Maybe it's just me, but... does the information give you any feel for how the rogue handles in social combat (politics, diplomacy etc) instead of martial combat (I hit the orc for 5 damage, I want their pie!) ?

 

[HeinorNY]

My best guess is that 2[W] means rolling 2d6 instead of 1d6 when hitting with a short sword, for example.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

Maybe it's just me, but... does the information give you any feel for how the rogue handles in social combat (politics, diplomacy etc) instead of martial combat (I hit the orc for 5 damage, I want their pie!) ?

Well they said they won't showcase how the social combat works till the books are out so they very well could have left it out.

 

[mach1.9pants]

Have I missed attack bonus? So the rogue has the same attack bonus as, say, a Wizard. 1/2 levels or whatever it is?
At least he basically seems to do all his attack rolls (and damage) using dex, str not necessary

 

[Voss]

Uh, no extremely relevant. I mean it's one of the downside.

I didn't mean it as literal sense. Sorry if it was offensive.

English is not my native tongue so, I used it in an inappropriate context I guess.

Ah, no problem. I tend to view it as a downside too, I was just curious since moot tends to mean something that doesn't matter anymore. Sorry.

cthulu_duck. Nope. We know a rogue can be decent at bluff and intimidate, but thats all.

@Altalt Jones- Nope. The article in question states near the end-

while the numbers in their base form seem similar when not taking into account the accuracy and damage boosts that merely gaining levels (and having better weapons) affords. It just gets … well, better

. So some bonus is coming just from level gain, and is included in the multiplier.

 

[Doug McCrae]

does the information give you any feel for how the rogue handles in social combat (politics, diplomacy etc)

The rogue has the skills Bluff and Intimidate. I'm sure those will be important in social combat. Maybe Insight too.

 

[Scholar & Brutalman]

I like it!

I actually approve of giving classes certain core skills automatically - I've never liked clerics who don't have Knowledge (religion) for example, or making bards pay for Perform to use their buffs. I'm not sure about all rogues getting Thievery, but Stealth should be there.

I see that Tumble is "Rogue Utility 2", but all the attack powers are at 1st level or 9th. All the Paladin smites were at odd levels as well. Do characters get attack powers at odd levels and defensive/utility ones at evens? In addition to feats?

Sneak attack is explicitly once per round. To stop too-powerful synergies with other powers that give more than one attack?

Dungeoneering(Wis) - not just a renamed Know(dungeoneering) then.

I wonder if we'll see new builds in the Martial Powers splatbook?

 

[jasonbostwick]

Same here, I am looking forward to my rogue with a pair of thigh-holsters sneaking behind a person and popping one in the head with his revolver

I'd been thinking myself that firearms would be the first thing I'd have to house-rule into my 4e campaign... but the Rogue's proficiency with handcrossbows makes me think I might be better off simply declaring that crossbows are pistols, and bows are rifles, and not bothering with the mechanics of it all.

 

[TPK]

On the damage: If I recall the Spined Devil correctly, the numbers made sense if half it's level was added to just about everything except damage. Everything you added a d20 to, it just occurs to me.

So [W]+Dex probably means just the weapon die + stat bonus IMO.

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

Some thoughts...

1. I get the feeling that when you're a game designer, and you're essentially locked in a room with a bunch of other game designers for two years and told to create D&D all over again, you start to lose your grip on your ability to not sound like a complete cheese-ball. I figure that when your only frame of reference for how to write your fluff text is the other fluff text you have scattered in piles around you, and a brain full of the fluff of the past 20 years, you might not be the best judge of how your prose might come across. I know that if I were a curious potential new player, and I read the following:

With a blade up your sleeve and a concealing cloak across your shoulders, you stride forth, eyes alight with anticipation. What worldly wonders and rewards are yours for the taking?

...my first thought would be, "holy crap what kind of flaccid garbage is this? It's like unexpectedly sparkly teenage poetry for the Lord of the Rings crowd. Do they seriously expect me to recite bull like this while I'm playing it?" Once again, the fluff hits the runway without lowering the landing gear.

2. On religion: there is nothing on religion. The religion section consists of "pick a god. Here's some." Where is the discussion of why I might want to follow a god as a rogue? What sorts of attitudes do rogues have toward religion? Are they often devout in a "throw the dice and see what the gods give me" sort of way, or are they generally a bunch of godless heathens who put more trust in their own daggers and lockpicks? I think this got pretty short shrift, and could use some fleshing out, if only just for the sort of roleplaying hooks that they threw in for the "why you're a rogue" section above it.

3. On rogue powers: hey, check it out. The names don't suck. Although the pun in "Artful Dodger" kind of grates on me. But that's puns for you. I also like the way that you pick whether you're going to be a thug or finesse rogue, and then get synergies with the powers you pick. The last power listed is exactly the sort of thing I expected to see: it sets up enemies for sneak attacks. I bet there's a lot of those.

4. Weapon talent: neato. Saves you having to take feats to be good at signature weapons.

5. Dex to hit: also neato.