Can leaders...do damage?

[SteveC]

When I play RPGA events, I team my rogue with a warlord, and together, we fight crime! Seriously: with us flanking enemies it helps both of us quite a bit to the point where he can typically land his big attacks that also give the group a boost.

This works amazingly well, to the point where usually we end up taking out the majority of the opposition ourselves in any given battle...the other characters might as well just be sitting around as a pool of HP for us to rely on. Of course a lot of that comes from the fact that when you play an RPGA event you never exactly know what you might get for the rest of the group.

--Steve

 

[wayne62682]

The cleric in my weekly game is a Dwarf with a flaming maul, and he does respectable damage. Not as much as the archer ranger, but he has a penchant for pulling off crits when we really need them

 

[DracoSuave]

It depends on build as much as anything. I don't expect a bear shaman to out damage anyone, nor do I expect a cunning bard to be a powerhouse of massive damages. But by the same token, it's not hard to imagine a taclord built to outdamage the party druid, or a valorbard that is competative with the swordmage.

Fact is, of the four roles, -someone- has to be on the bottom tier for damage, and someone has to be on the top tier. Strikers -are- the top tier (as they should be) and defenders and controllers, by dint of their roles, should occupy the middle ground, with leaders being the fourth place.

But the thing is, leaders do so much for a party that any damage they do is just gravy. They aren't exactly slouches in the damage department either. They just combine strong party-buffing/enemy-debuffing with attacks in the same action.

 

[Prestidigitalis]

My Dwarf Cleric (Level 5, good rolled stats) does excellent damage with a regular +1 Executioners Axe, although she does miss more often that I'd like.

But in a round where I also use Healing Word on an unconscious ally just in time to get him his next turn, and watch a monster whiff on an attack vs. AC because I started the encounter with Shield of Faith, I get to feel like I made a big difference even if I miss.

And every once in a while, that Axe crits for 12 (max on crit) + 4 (Str) + 2 (Dwarven Weapon Training) + 1 (Enhancement) + d12-Brutal2 (Axe high crit) + d6 (Magic weapon crit) for an average of 30 damage...

So no complaints here, and Divine Power isn't even out yet.