Beginner's questions

[Endoren]

Hello everyone, I'm glad I found this forum. My friends and I are completely new to role play gaming and played our first session yesterday. As you can imagine, some questions came up during the game. I will post some of them in this thread and I would be happy to get some answers here.

1) Sneak Attack
Can sneak attack only be used in combination with a standard attack or can it also be used in combination with powers, such as Dazing Strike? (If the target enemy grants combat advantage, of course.)

2) Area of effect
If there is an ally in the AoE of a spell for which the caster has to roll against each target enemy in the area - does the caster also have to roll against allies even if he does not want to hit allies? (I would assume you can always "take 1" on a roll but I'm not sure about that.)

3) XP for disabling traps
If the PCs trigger a trap and after that a PC manages to disable it - does the party still get the XP for disabling the trap? (It was a trap which could be triggered multiple times if this is important.)

I hope these questions aren't too annoying Thanks in advance for your answers.

Greetings from Switzerland,
Endo

 

[Ixis]

I could be wrong but...

1) From what we've done sneak attacks can be used with powers. In the rules it states it is used with attacks, instead of basic attacks which is what you're thinking of. Usually if a rule has that restriction it will say "basic/simple melee/simple ranged attack" instead of attack.

2) If the power says "Target: All creatures in range" then yes, it even hits allies. If it says "All enemies in range" then only enemies. You can't take a one on a roll for that, but you could houserule it.

3) Yes

 

[cmbarona]

First of all, welcome not only to EN World, but to the wonderful world of RPGs! I hope they bring you and your friends many years of enjoyment.

To answer your questions:

1) Yes, Sneak Attack can be added to any of the Rogue's attacks, as long as s/he has combat advantage.

2) That depends on the power. The "target" line will specify whether the power affects "each creature" or "each enemy" or, for beneficial effects, "each ally" in the blast/burst. And according to the rules, you can't "take 1."

3) I'm not too familiar with traps, but I believe they get the standard XP value.

Edit: Ninja'd!

 

[Dragonblade]

1. Whenever the rogue gets combat advantage they can add sneak attack damage to their power, regardless of what power it is. However, sneak attack damage can only applied to any one attack in a round even if the rogue gets additional attacks via an opportunity attack, action points etc.

2. The power description will specify who is affected by an area attack. If it says all creatures in the area then yes allies would get hit even if you didn't want them to meaning you would have to roll to hit them. If the attack says only enemies or allies are effected then only those groups are effected as appropriate depending on the power.

3. Traps in 4e work much like monsters. I believe you get full XP for overcoming a trap whether you disable it through skill checks, or suffer through its attack and destroy it by brute force or whatever depending on the trap.

 

[Endoren]

1) Thanks, that's what I thought, too.

2) Ok. It sort of doesn't make sense to me though, since you always roll to see if you "succeed in hitting something". If you don't try to hit something, why should you even roll? Example: A mage with a high int modifier would hit his allies more often than one with a low int modifier, even though you would think the more experienced one is more skilled in directing his powers.. confuses me.

3) Alrighty! *adds xp*

Thank you for the quick answers. More questions will follow after our next session

Cheers from Switzerland,
Endo

 

[cmbarona]

As for hitting allies, think of the Int modifier as the power behind the area effect spell. Once that spell is unleashed, as say, a fireball, it completely engulfs everyting within it. The Wizard is not targetting each creature individually (even though they roll for each creature individually) as, say, a Ranger's Dire Wolverine Strike would do. Notice that there is a feat later on (which I'm sure someone after me can identify by name) that allows a Wizard to omit a number of squares equal to their Wisdom modifier.

 

[Ixis]

As cmbarona said, it's like throwing a grenade. If you threw a grenade you would roll to see what attacks hit what targets, and you have no control over making parts of the explosion easier to dodge than others. Even though the Wizard doesn't want to hit her allies with a fireball she has no control over that. For AoE attacks specifically you're not rolling to see if you hit it like you would with a weapon attack, but moreso the challenge an enemy will face in dodging the attack.

 

[Black Knight Irios]

2) Ok. It sort of doesn't make sense to me though, since you always roll to see if you "succeed in hitting something". If you don't try to hit something, why should you even roll? Example: A mage with a high int modifier would hit his allies more often than one with a low int modifier, even though you would think the more experienced one is more skilled in directing his powers.. confuses me.

Two feats will help you in your future:
One is a paragon (FRPG) feat the other one epic(PHB).
The first one applies a -5 penalty to hit your allies in your AEs and the latter one allows you to omit squares in your powers.

Sorry I've no names at hand, because I've got no books at hand...

 

[abyssaldeath]

Two feats will help you in your future:
One is a paragon (FRPG) feat the other one epic(PHB).
The first one applies a -5 penalty to hit your allies in your AEs and the latter one allows you to omit squares in your powers.

Sorry I've no names at hand, because I've got no books at hand...

FRPG Paragon feat: War Wizardry

PHB Epic feat: Spell Accuracy