Companion Characters: Q&A, requests, etc...

[surfarcher]

There's been some discussion on Companion Characters in a few threads and on other places on the net.

I figured a running thread could be handy for later reference and also for requests... If I'm wrong then this thread will just sink and no harm done

So if you have questions on companion characters or would like a specific one built ask away!

I'm mostly experienced in the Heroic/lower-Paragon band but hopefully others will chip in if needed.

Actual companion characters will be posted on the http://www.enworld.org/forum/4e-fan...ncyclopaedia-post-yours-here.html#post5231005 thread.

 

[erf_beto]

Hmm... I have a request. Sort of.

The classic D&D party, with that old school feel (to bring new players into or back to the game). I suppose Heroic Levels 1, 5 or 10 would be just fine.


Thank you.

 

[surfarcher]

Thief, Fighter, Magic-user and Cleric are easy enough. I guess some kind of Dwarf defender for the Dwarf and the equivalent of a controller/defender hybrid for the Elf.

Which one first? And what level? Depending on how much of a hurry you are in I could 1,5&10 versions of the same one

 

[erf_beto]

No hurry at all, I'm just suggesting it because I thought of doing it once but I'm too lazy to do it myself.

 

[surfarcher]

Fighter and Magic User done and uploaded. Levels 1, 5 & 10 for both.

Keep tuned for more.

 

[erf_beto]

Thanks, but what I had in mind was a bit different...
the Magic User, for instance, would have the same attacks he has in game: Magic Missile, Fireball, Lighting Bolt, Flesh to Stone, Conjure Elemental, etc. You know, the classic old school spell names, for that old school charm. The fighter would be simpler, easier to run, with basic "attack" and "full attack" combos, with some charges, counters or "break" moves. I meant to mimick the arcade game, not conform their sprites to 4e.
This might require only a change in fluff, I don't have anything against Thunderwave or Cleave, it's just that when the 4e mechanics are in your face like that, you can't feel the 1e intention behind it.
On the other hand, these are companions/NPCs which can be built like monsters which don't have to follow the rules

 

[surfarcher]

I never played the video game

The Magic User will be pretty easy - that'll mostly just be refluffing. I tried to take the idea of hardkly any spells at level 1 and then layering them up. That kind of feels OD&D to me.

The Fighter... Hhhmmmm... Some of that will just be refluffing. But the problem is going to be marking. What are you thoughts on that?

 

[surfarcher]

OK well the Fighter and Magic User have been updated. Unimaginative Real Life interferred - my apologies for the delay.

Some notes...

Fighter
I tried to keep this guy really simple. I gave him longsword and shield bash MBAs, plus javelin for RBA. He needed something powerful but simple for an encounter power so Brute Strike didn't seem like a big departure. To make sure he could tank effectively I let him combine the lightweight Shield Bash with Longsword. You'll notice that this guy is a departure from DMG2's defender recommendation, which is mark on a successful melee attack. Combined with the lower powered attacks CCs typically have this makes Defender CCs too under powered. Here it seemed most fitting to tweak so he marked on all melee atatcks, just like the PC fighter. His attacks scale up in hit and damage to level 10 with no other changes.

Magic User
In BXCMI magic users are all about variety. They start out simple and increase in complexity and power. So I've tried to do something similar here while keeping the CC viable as a stand-in Controller. She starts with her mainstay at-wills as Magic Missle (yes, pre-July version) and Cloud of Daggers and one encounter and one daily. From there she gains additional encounter and dailies as she levels, swapping in better powers for her lower level ones. I've picked all spells that have a BXCMI clone.