Design & Development: Warlord Article UP!

[Voss]

Hmmm. About what I expected, and I largely like it.

I'm not really impressed with White Raven Charge, however. The fact that you can only shift adjacent allies really limits its usefulness- if you get into flanking position you don't want to leave it, and you're not adjacent anyway. It allows the party to push forward, but only in a block. It seems like a good way to get surrounded. The one good use I see is using it to drop back and allow a spellcaster to shift away from a threat for free.


I do think a warlord and rogue would make an really good team. Particularly if they can pick up a power or two from the other class- that would be a disgusting combination. A pair wielding daggers and granting each other additional sneak attacks. Nasty.

Pin the foe is really nice, especially at low levels. Fighter opens up a hole in the enemy battle line with Tide of Iron, warlord pushes through and pins the controller type, and a fast character moves up to finish locking him down. Add a cleric tossing lance of faith at something to hand out a bonus to an attack.

Or heck, you don't even need to go after the back line. Warlord and a defender can lock down an elite melee brute (or skirmisher) and keep it away from the squishy members of the party.

Hmm. Potential...

 

[breschau]

That article made two things crystal clear in my mind:

1. I love the warlord.

2. WotC sucks at naming powers.

I am a 4E lover and can't wait to play, but the more I find out about it, the more I see where the anime/video game haters are coming from. If they're going for tactical leader the least they could do is go with tactical terms instead of using silly names like that.

 

[small pumpkin man]

hmm... Iron Dragon and white raven are back, I wonder if we'll see any of the other Bo9S schools?

Iron Dragon is new. You're thinking of Iron Heart and Stone Dragon.

 

[Ktulu]

Iron Dragon is new. You're thinking of Iron Heart and Stone Dragon.

[4e hate sarcasm rant] oh my god! They combined two powers into one!?!? This game just isn't for me. It's obviously for people who want a ton of powers and no roleplaying[/4e hate sarcasm rant]

Just kiddin'.

Ktulu

 

[Kunimatyu]

Iron Dragon Charge, eh?

They're doing it with the crappy names again...

 

[Irda Ranger]

1. I love the warlord.

Me too! I can't wait to play one. This will be my first 4E character I think.

2. WotC sucks at naming powers.

I've had my rants on WotC naming conventions before, but (if I can make one assumption) these are OK.

That assumption I referred to is that there are "themes" of Martial powers grouped into "White Raven" and "Iron Dragon" (and "Open Palm" and "Desert Wind and ...). Like the Schools of Magic of yesteryear there's no hard and fast definition of what's what, but there's a theme. If you see "White Raven ____" you know it's about buffing allies in some way, or whatever. That's how ToB/Bo9S works, and it works well. I have no reason to suspect otherwise.

As a counter-example, this is way "Dragon's Tail Cut", which was actually some kind of sweep the leg attack. Not a helpful power name.

I am a 4E lover and can't wait to play, but the more I find out about it, the more I see where the anime/video game haters are coming from. If they're going for tactical leader the least they could do is go with tactical terms instead of using silly names like that.

Last time I checked, "Pin", "Onslaught" and "Charge" were all tactical terms.

 

[TwinBahamut]

I am glad to see good old White Raven back.

I love the design behind the warlord Daily Powers. For a Warlord, a Daily Power is not just a single attack, it is a whole strategy which enables you to do cool things for the duration of an encounter. Because it lasts the whole encounter, it encourages a Warlord to think about the odds and plan ahead, so he doesn't waste potential uses of the followup reaction abilities by waiting too long to get his Daily Power off in a fight which needs it.

 

[JesterOC]

So just to be clear. The pinned target can not shift, but it can move right? It has been a while since I have played 3E, if two allies are next to a pinned monster, and it decides to move, do both allies get an AoO on it?

If so that sounds pretty good. You may miss on the knockout punch but you hose its movement for the entire encounter. Unless I am wrong of course.

JesterOC

 

[Belphanior]

Considering that the Iron Dragon is an actual beastie in 4e, the name is no more silly than Bull Rush or Lion's Charge. Maybe that particular animal is simply very infamous for charging - the flavor text certainly seems to imply so.

I like these Warlord powers. It's like snapping your fingers and suddenly the entire freaking party doubles in power or something. Fun!

 

[thatdarnedbob]

These powers look sweet. Nothing like the Fighter or Cleric abilities, and those are the most similarities they have. This supports the idea that no, not every class will feel basically the same.