Discussion of Scotley's upcoming 4e Swashbuckler Game

[Insight]

Thanks Shayuri. What about Wisdom for a Fighter? I saw something about Combat Superiority keying off Wisdom, but I wasn't sure what that was all about?

Combat Superiority gives you a bonus equal to your Wisdom mod when making opportunity attacks. It can be useful, but only if your DM has enemies actually provoke OAs (and I have played with many who simply will not have their bad guys do it AT ALL).

 

[Insight]

Yeah... In 4e, the powers key off whatever the main stat is envisioned to be for attack roll bonuss and damage. So Wizard powers key off Intelligence, Sorceror powers key off Charisma...etc.

A few classes, like Clerics, have builds that emphasize different stats. So a Cleric can use powers that key on Strength, or Wisdom. Depending on which powers the player chooses most of, the character should focus attribute raises accordingly.

So take a look at the powers you want your fighter to have. If most/all of them key on Str, then you'll want a good Str above all.

ALL Fighter attack powers use Strength for attack and base damage. Some have "rider" effects that use other ability scores (such as Dexterity for two- weapon tempest fighters or Constitution for battlerage vigor fighters). What you should do is manage your powers and ability scores to make sure you are getting the most out of those "rider" effects. Or pick powers that don't have them.

Nothing says you can't -also- have a good Dexterity though. It won't mix with heavy armor, but swashbucklers have no business in that anyway.

Don't tempest fighters get some sort of mechanical benefit for NOT wearing heavy armor? Or maybe it's just the Two Weapon Defense feat and putting a Defensive weapon in the off-hand.

EDIT: I just read the Tempest benefits and there is some kind of bonus for wearing light armor or chain mail:

When you wield two melee weapons, you gain a +1 bonus to attack rolls with weapons that have the offhand property. You gain Two-Weapon Defense as a bonus feat, even if you don’t meet the prerequisites.
When wearing light armor or chainmail, you gain a +1 bonus to damage rolls with melee and close weapon attacks when you are wielding two weapons. This bonus increases to +2 with weapons that have the off-hand property.

Add in an off-hand weapon with the Defensive property and you can have a pretty decent AC and Reflex without a shield or heavy armor. And decent damage without needing a greatsword or greataxe or something.

 

[Walking Dad]

Combat Superiority gives you a bonus equal to your Wisdom mod when making opportunity attacks. It can be useful, but only if your DM has enemies actually provoke OAs (and I have played with many who simply will not have their bad guys do it AT ALL).

There is a feat, I think 'Combat Agility', that let's you use Dex for Combat Superiority instead. There is also a great fighter power (rain of blows) that requires a dex of at least 15.

 

[Rhun]

Thanks Insight & WD!


Now, I did find a great pic for my character. What do ya think?



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

[sblock=Credit]Credit to yjianlong @ deviatart[/sblock]

 

[Insight]

There is a feat, I think 'Combat Agility', that let's you use Dex for Combat Superiority instead. There is also a great fighter power (rain of blows) that requires a dex of at least 15.

Combat Agility is a class feature that you can take instead of Combat Superiority. If someone provokes an OA by moving, you can shift a number of squares equal to your Dex mod (as long as you end closer to them) and make an attack against them.

It might be an ideal option for a Fighter with a good Dex and no Wisdom bonus.

Rain of Blows gives you two attacks and a third against a different target if you have a Dex of 15 or higher. Yes, it is a good power for Rhun's character.

 

[Shayuri]

Question. Do you guys think its worth doing 2 weapon fighting with my rogue?

I'm spending 2 feats to get +1 damage and +2 AC and Reflex.

On the face of it, that seems worth it to me, especially since AC bonuses aren't easy to come by for a class limited to leather armor...but I fear I may be investing too heavily in shoring up my defenses, and not enough into developing my attacks...

 

[Insight]

Question. Do you guys think its worth doing 2 weapon fighting with my rogue?

I'm spending 2 feats to get +1 damage and +2 AC and Reflex.

On the face of it, that seems worth it to me, especially since AC bonuses aren't easy to come by for a class limited to leather armor...but I fear I may be investing too heavily in shoring up my defenses, and not enough into developing my attacks...

It kinda depends on the defender. If you're paired with a defender who can mark lots of targets (the two-weapon guy should be able to do this), remember that those marked enemies are taking a -2 penalty and risking an OA for attacking you.

The reason that you would want the higher AC is if either a) your defender isn't good at marking multiple targets or b) you plan on going solo away from the defender a lot.

Not sure if it's worth it for the +1 Reflex defense, since you already have a high defense there. It's sometimes worth it to be really good at one particular NAD, though. It's helped me in the past when an area effect hit everyone but my character.

 

[Shayuri]

Yar, well, I'm not really debating the rules...just what would make an effective character. I honestly have no idea why Two Weapon Defense boosts Reflex. I agree that it makes no sense. But I shan't say 'no' to a nice bonus.

 

[Insight]

Yar, well, I'm not really debating the rules...just what would make an effective character. I honestly have no idea why Two Weapon Defense boosts Reflex. I agree that it makes no sense. But I shan't say 'no' to a nice bonus.

I really didn't mean to, either. You'll see that I edited my post to that effect. Nothing wrong with at least one of us having a 20+ reflex defense.

 

[Insight]

Looking over the submissions, it looks like we have 9 PCs so far: 3 defenders, 2 leaders (both bards), 3 strikers, and a controller. Not a bad mix for 9 PCs, but I have a feeling Scotley may not want this many PCs in his game.

I'm still considering myself in lurk mode, especially given how many submissions this has gotten.

Happy to help people out, though. This looks to be a fun game.