Class Acts - Wizard

[N0Man]

If I were a betting man, I'd say Force Ladder gets changed quickly. As it is right now (12:18 or so AM on 01/13), it's a freestanding 40 ft ladder that you climb with a DC 0 check. It's an encounter power and it ends at the end of.. wait for it.. the encounter. Seekers and Rangers, rejoice while you can!

As opposed to carrying a normal 40 foot ladder in a bag of holding?

A normal ladder is a DC 0 to climb also.

I'm loving Mystical Debris. I'm going to have to retrain to pick that up as soon as I can.

 

[Peraion Graufalke]

While I think it could have been better named, it's not entirely inaccurate. You can use it to scatter your allies (the initial attack targets each creature in burst) before grouping your enemies together and attacking them.

Good catch! I totally missed that.

 

[Mistwell]

I'm loving Mystical Debris. I'm going to have to retrain to pick that up as soon as I can.

I agree. I would take it hands down over shield. It's a truly control-oriented at-will power, that I would use every encounter (since it is a minor action) and for much of the encounter.

I can see it proving very useful, over time during an encounter, to any party that has difficulty keeping baddies close to the defender. And it would play havoc on battles with Kobolds, where it would hamper their shifty ability once you get a line of difficult terrain set up behind the front line.

 

[renau1g]

That's one thing I do feel is very lacking: wall powers. I love walls. And the ability to create proper circumstances to allow allies to succeed, or enemies to flounder. Creating difficult terrain is a good example of an offensive battlefield shaping, but I love me walls and fogs and suchlike.

Even the ability to just create higher ground. Or ground period (so you have a few squares of solid space in water).

Yeah more walls would be fun, especially at lower levels.

 

[N0Man]

If I were a betting man, I'd say Force Ladder gets changed quickly. As it is right now (12:18 or so AM on 01/13), it's a freestanding 40 ft ladder that you climb with a DC 0 check. It's an encounter power and it ends at the end of.. wait for it.. the encounter. Seekers and Rangers, rejoice while you can!

You know, at first I completely disagreed with you about this being overpowered... Frankly, I still do, at least for the reasons that you gave.

However, after further thought, it occurred to me that this power is kind of broken. Consider, the following:

"I cast Force Ladder in front of the door!"

Keep in mind the effect text:

"...The ladder stands firmly, does not need to be attached to anything, and cannot be moved unless you permit it."
​

You could use this to lock a door in place and prevent it from being opened inward by placing this immovable ladder up against it.

Even of the door opens outward, it can block the entrance and only smaller enemies or those who took the time to squeeze through (if they can).

I think this could be abused.

 

[Squizzle]

As a conjuration, it does not technically occupy the square in which it resides. Any bonus you get for placement--for instance, before a doorway--is strictly a DM call, and not something baked into the power.

I'm more interested in the fact that is placed in an unoccupied square in range, not an unoccupied square on the ground in range. Conjurations can, by default, float. here has to be some interesting way to use that.

 

[Stalker0]

Even of the door opens outward, it can block the entrance and only smaller enemies or those who took the time to squeeze through (if they can).

I think this could be abused.

Note the at will Storm Pillar can do the same thing.

 

[N0Man]

Note the at will Storm Pillar can do the same thing.

Except a Storm Pillar is described in the effect as a pillar of energy, which is intangible. If the ladder can be climbed, that strongly implies tangibility.

Technically, by the rules, since it's a conjuration, it doesn't "occupy" the square, but at the same time it bothers me that you can touch it, climb it, it's immobile for anyone but the caster, but it doesn't occupy a square?

I suppose that's the rules, but it's rather counter-intuitive.

 

[Rechan]

Technically, by the rules, since it's a conjuration, it doesn't "occupy" the square, but at the same time it bothers me that you can touch it, climb it, it's immobile for anyone but the caster, but it doesn't occupy a square?

It's a floating ladder. I can accept that it's intangible force that only functions in one capacity (being able to be climbed) and when not being climbed, has no function.

Consider it a construct that merely supports weight. The only movement it obstructs would be straight down (hence, you can walk through it, but can't fall through it). So it's like a vertical Tenser's Floating Disk.

It's not hard for me to accept that the spell can only be interacted with in a specific manner. The same way that a Magic Mouth spell can't bite you.

 

[MadLordOfMilk]

...
You could use this to lock a door in place and prevent it from being opened inward by placing this immovable ladder up against it.

Even of the door opens outward, it can block the entrance and only smaller enemies or those who took the time to squeeze through (if they can).

I think this could be abused.

You can do that with anything that occupies a square, though. Flaming Sphere is a level 1 example, and that doesn't even require a door, just a 1-square bottleneck