Are Rituals Vaporware?

[hong]

I don't consider going on a quest to be keyed for a new zone to be the height of roleplaying. YMMV. To me, it is rather the antithesis of immersion and imagination. There may be better ways to metaphorically slam the player's face into a brick wall while chanting "YOU! ARE! PLAYING! A! GAME!", but I don't feel like thinking of them now.

Of course, it was never guaranteed that everybody would LIKE said noncombat information.

 

[Lizard]

Where things get difficult are when people want to use rituals as a backdoor to bring abusive spell use back into combat. There may be a "Wall of Iron" ritual that allows you to repair breached holes in castle walls, or wall off a tunnel to prevent your enemies escape. But you're probably not going to be able to make a wall of iron just to crush people like you did in previous editions.

More likely, there WILL be a Wall of Iron spell, and it will have 2 or 3 precisely described uses, and it can do nothing else. It will vanish when its duration ends (probably at the end of the encounter). No using it to provide a source of metal in an iron-poor kingdom and get your ally to become Chief High Muckey Muck because now he has iron weapons.

 

[Lizard]

Of course, it was never guaranteed that everybody would LIKE said noncombat information.

If the names of the tiers are non-combat information, so were level titles in 1e. How much use did you get out of going from Tracker to Guide?

 

[hong]

If the names of the tiers are non-combat information,

Exactly where did anyone say the names of the tiers were what constituted the substantive bit of noncombat information?

 

[broghammerj]

Where things get difficult are when people want to use rituals as a backdoor to bring abusive spell use back into combat. There may be a "Wall of Iron" ritual that allows you to repair breached holes in castle walls, or wall off a tunnel to prevent your enemies escape. But you're probably not going to be able to make a wall of iron just to crush people like you did in previous editions.

Ah, an interesting use of the spell.....but I think there is a line between abusive spell use and creative casting. For me, your example likely lies on the abuse side of the line. Creative casting is what often drew me to the wizard and cleric. Many spells have both "ritual" uses and "combat" uses.

I worry that 4E may reduce combat to the wizard doing 1d8 energy blast and the fighter doing 1d8 damage with his sword for the sake of balance.

Also social encounters were ritual magic may be active could suddenly transform into combat encounters. What will happen to rituals magic then?

 

[Lizard]

Exactly where did anyone say the names of the tiers were what constituted the substantive bit of noncombat information?

Well, it would be hard to say *anything* involving the tiers we've seen so far counts as "substantive". If you consider a sentence or two of non-mechanically-supported fluff text following the name to be "substance", well, we use the terms differently.

 

[hong]

Well, it would be hard to say *anything* involving the tiers we've seen so far counts as "substantive". If you consider a sentence or two of non-mechanically-supported fluff text following the name to be "substance", well, we use the terms differently.

Why yes, I consider this:

Your paragon path is college after high school, the second job you take after you leave the first one, the worthy cause you volunteer your time to help with while you are working full time. If you’re coming to Dungeons & Dragons from the 3rd edition/v3.5 edition, paragon paths are somewhat similar to prestige classes. In 4th edition terms, paragon paths let you further tweak and refine your character within the more general conceptual space of a class, even as you continue to gain features from your class.

To think of them another way, paragon paths are like snack-size packets of character concept—just enough, but not so much you’ve ruined your dinner with either bloat or an unhappy mixture of class concepts for your taste. Dip into one flavor by selecting your path for 11th to 20th, and then select another course again from 21st to 30th with an epic destiny. (Alternatively if you wish, you can also select powers from a second class in place of a paragon path. That’s described in the information on multiclassing, and something we’ll cover in a future preview article.)

And this:

You have survived and thrived through ten levels of adventure.

You’ve explored dank dungeons, defeated vile monsters, and learned priceless secrets. You’ve started making a name for yourself.

Now you’re ready to take the next step: you’re ready to choose a paragon path.

As your class describes your basic role in the party, your paragon path represents a particular area of expertise within that role. It’s a form of specialization beyond even what a build choice represents. You might be a battle cleric and specialize in melee powers, but starting at 11th level you can be a warpriest and specialize in battle prayers.

As shown on the Character Advancement table on page 29 of the Player's Handbook, your paragon path gives you new capabilities from 11th level through 20th level. But adopting a paragon path doesn’t mean you stop advancing in your class. All the powers and features you gain from your paragon path come in addition to your class powers and features, not instead of them. You don’t stop being a cleric when you become a radiant servant. Instead, you gain new capabilities that extend, enhance, and complement the abilities of your class.

Paragon paths also broaden the use of action points in different ways. Each paragon path features a different, extra capability that characters can unlock by spending action points. So, once you pick your paragon path, you can still spend an action point to take an extra action. But you’ll also have a new capability for action points that is unique to your path. Some of these capabilities come in addition to the extra action you get for spending an action point, some are used instead of getting an extra action.

When you reach 11th level, choose a paragon path. All paths have prerequisites, conditions you have to fulfill before you can adopt that path.

And heck, even this:

By 11th level, characters are shining examples of courage and determination—true paragons in the world, set well apart from the masses.

Paragon tier adventurers are a lot more versatile than they were at lower levels, and they can find just the right tool for a given challenge. They can spend action points to gain additional effects, are able to use magic rings, and can sometimes regain limited powers they’ve expended. In combat, they exploit short-range flight and teleportation, making difficult terrain less important, and might be able to turn invisible or resist specific damage types. They also have ways to regain hit points beyond healing surges, including regeneration, so they can complete more encounters between extended rests. On the other hand, monsters at the paragon tier have more ways to thwart these new capabilities, including their own flight, damage resistance, and blindsight.

Rituals at the paragon tier begin to give characters magical ways to gather information and overcome obstacles. Divination rituals such as Consult Oracle grant access to knowledge they might otherwise not have, while View Object can make some kinds of mysteries obsolete. Exploration rituals such as Passwall and Shadow Walk let a party bypass solid barriers and quickly travel long distances.

Adventures: The fate of a nation or even the world might depend on momentous quests that such characters undertake. Paragon-level adventurers explore uncharted regions and delve long-forgotten dungeons, where they confront savage giants, ferocious hydras, fearless golems, evil yuan-ti, bloodthirsty vampires, crafty mind flayers, and drow assassins. They might face a powerful adult dragon that has established a lair and a role in the world.

to be substantive information. Because, after all, there is more to D&D and the campaign than combat and killing monsters.

 

[Praeden]

One might. One wonders why the 4e designers didn't. While you are as free to roleplay in 4e as you were in any other edition, there's nothing added to the game to enhance or drive roleplaying -- no non-combat skills

What are things like Religion, Bluff, and Stealth, if not non-combat skills?

 

[Praeden]

Incidently, to return to the subject of rituals, the above passage quoted by Hong should help alleviate some concerns.

 

[Mort_Q]

What are things like Religion, Bluff, and Stealth, if not non-combat skills?

Does anyone know if some powers require, or can be modified, by skills? Like bluff used to feint? Not that I'm suggesting that this is a good idea.