Assistance with Interaction, please (Hell's Keeper and Frost of Letherna)

[nogray]

Hello, and thanks in advance for reading and providing insights. I am looking at a combination of abilities and want some views on how you think they should interact. Here are the relevant parts of the abilities:

First, the paragon path's action point ability...

Jailor's Strength (11th level): When you spend an action point to take an action, until the end of your next turn any power you use that slows or immobilizes a target instead restrains the target for the duration.

And second, the effect of the power (which is a Close Burst 2)...

Effect: The burst creates a zone of hindering frost that lasts until the end of your next turn. When any enemy enters the zone or starts its turn there, it is slowed until the end of its next turn.
Sustain Minor: The zone persists.

So what I am asking is how to handle the effect produced by the power when it is used while the action point mechanic is in force. In the interest of full disclosure, I am the DM, and we have been playing it that the zone created always restrains people who enter it or start their turn within it. Is that a correct and fair interpretation? It seems a bit too powerful, as it has trivialized a few encounters. Then again, it is a daily power that is used on an action point, so a strong effect on the combat encounter is not unexpected.

Thanks, again, for taking the time to weigh in on this.

 

[tiornys]

Technically, the enemies being slowed by Frost of Letherna are not being targeted by the part of the power that slows, and Jailor's Strength only applies when a power "...slows or immobilizes a target...", so there's no RAW interaction between these two game elements.

Of course, if you decide to change the way you've been playing the power, I'd advise discussing it with the player ahead of time, and allowing him to alter his character if desired.

t~

 

[nogray]

Technically, the enemies being slowed by Frost of Letherna are not being targeted by the part of the power that slows, and Jailor's Strength only applies when a power "...slows or immobilizes a target...", so there's no RAW interaction between these two game elements.

While I appreciate the feedback, I will say that neither I (as the DM) nor we (the group as a whole) tend to read the rules with that level of technical analysis. When I see " ... that slows or immobilizes a target ..." in the Jailor's Strength feature (or in other places in the game), I tend to read "target" as "someone affected by the power."

I know that is looser than some interpretations, but it allows things like the Invigorated Healing feat ("... whenever you use a healing power, the targets of that power heal additional hit points...") to be used with powers like Healing Strike (where the person healed is not a "target" of the power by the reading presented). I am reasonably comfortable with other aspects of using this interpretation for "target," so I would hate to use that sort of technicality to outright void the combination.

Anyone have any further thoughts? I'm still ruminating upon the subject, and I appreciate all input.

 

[tiornys]

I don't play at that level of technicality either; I was just offering the RAW take on the question.

You say that this combination is trivializing encounters. Are you letting Jailor's Strength turn Frost of Letherna into permanent-restrain (i.e., it starts in the zone and would be slowed until end of next turn, so it gets restrained, then it's still in the zone, so it would be slowed, and gets restrained again, etc.)? Because I can certainly see where that would wreck encounters, and it's not something I would personally allow. I would have Jailor's Strength apply for 1 round, which is still very strong, but after that, I would have Frost of Letherna's zone go back to slowing.

If that's already what you're doing, then the combination is probably fine. Compare with the Druid L5 Vine Serpents or Wizard L9 Visions of Ruin, among others.

t~