Duskblade Paragon Path

[Draenar]

I've been lurking for a while, and now that I've made a paragon path for plot reasons for my soon-to-start Forgotten Realms campaign, I thought I'd post it here for feedback.

Duskblade
"I am heir to a tradition older than most n'tel'quess can imagine, one tempered in the fiercest wars Faerûn has seen."

Prerequisites: Eladrin; swordmage; Light Shield proficiency, Chainmail proficiency; cannot have the Moon Elf Resilience feat

First developed in the ancient days of the Crown Wars, the art of the duskblade has long fallen out of favour, overshadowed by its more free-wheeling cousin, bladesinging. Its lore passed down from lone master to individual student among the gold elves of Faerûn, the number of duskblades has always been small.

You are a student of this powerful style. Even with the changes wrought by the Spellplague, the techniques you learn are little changed from days when duskblades fought for Aryvandaar. While there is much in that tradition to be proud of, many see duskblades as symbols of corruption among the Fair Folk. With the appearance of so many swordmage schools of technique, though, it is easy enough to avoid undue attention in the aftermath of the Spellplague, as long as the number of duskblades remains small.

Duskblade Features
Dusk Action (11th level): When you spend an action point to take an extra action to make an attack against a single target, that attack does additional ongoing randiant damage equal to your Constitution modifier (save ends).
Knight's Warding (11th level): Your Swordmage Warding provides a +3 bonus to AC even if you are carrying a weapon in one hand and a shield in the other.
Slashing Dispel (11th level): When you hit an enemy in melee, that enemy is unable to use the sustain action until the start of your next turn.
Dusk Cloak (16th level): You gain resist radiant equal to 5 + one-half your level.

Duskblade Powers
Halt Duskblade Attack 11
Your command of "Halt!" stops your enemy in its tracks, shocking it into immobility.
Encounter * Arcane, Psychic, Implement
Immediate Interrupt
Close burst 5
Trigger: Any time during the movement of a creature within the burst
Target: The moving creature
Attack: Intelligence vs. Will
Hit: 1d6 + Intelligence modifier psychic damage.
Effect: The target is immobilized until the start of your next turn.

Regroup Duskblade Utility 12
Sword high, you summon your companions to your side.
Encounter * Arcane, Teleportation
Standard Action
Close burst 10
Target: All allies in burst
Effect: You teleport the target to a space adjacent to you. If there are no free and safe squares adjacent to you, the target appears as close to you as possible.

Doom Scarabs Duskblade Attack 20
A swarm of scarabs surges from your outstretched hand. They rip at your foes, before returning to you with life essence stolen from their victims.
Daily * Arcane, Implement
Standard Action
Close blast 5
Target: Each creature in blast
Attack: Intelligence vs. Fortitude
Hit: 4d8 + Intelligence modifier damage.
Effect: For each creature that takes damage, you gain temporary hit points equal to your Constitution modifier.



This is my first attempt at making anything for 4e, so I'd really like to get an idea of whether it's balanced. Yes, I'm aware the prerequisites are more detailed than is usual -- that's intentional. I want a definite flavour for these guys.

Thanks for any feedback you can give.

 

[comrade raoul]

It looks balanced and interesting--good job! I particularly like how the abilities highlight the class's defender archetype, and emphasize sophisticated tactics and a magical bent.

 

[rowport]

I like the idea, but feel that it might be too restrictive-- having both race and class restrictions makes it very limited. I also do not like calling out "feat" specifically for Light Shield Proficiency and Chainmail Proficiency, since you might get both with a core class using the Swordmage multiclass feat; the way it is written would prohibit a Fighter with Swordmage multiclass feat from qualifying, since his Proficiencies are class features instead of feats. Last, I would suggest eliminating the Light Shield Proficiency requirement, since a Swordmage choosing to use a shield gives up his Swordmage Warding class feature (which says "...if you are wielding a blade in one hand and have the other hand free (not carrying a shield, an off-hand weapon, a two-handed weapon or anything else)." I would expect that most Swordmages would not use a shield for that reason.

 

[SadisticFishing]

Okay, first off, I like it!

Next, I don't like the level 16 power, and I find the Slashing Dispel too powerful. So IMHO move Slashing Dispel to level 16, and remove the radiant resistance.

Doom Scarabs may also be too powerful, too many temporary hitpoints. Something like 2 or 3, possibly 5 per creature hit + con mod may work out really well (if you hit any targets, gain con mod temporary hitpoints, +3 for each enemy damaged).

Also rowport has a good point, change the prereqs to just Proficiency with Shields.

I don't like Chainmail for the class, though it does fit the 3.5 Duskblades, 3.5 duskblades didn't add int to AC.

All in all, good creation! Just a couple of the numbers seemed a bit off to me

 

[Draenar]

Thanks for the replies. To address a couple issues you had with it: I agree the prereqs are restrictive, but I'm looking to give duskblades a very specific place in my campaign, while still leaving open the possibility of PCs being able to be one. The problem of the shield is off-set by Knight's Warding, which lets them keep their full Swordmage Warding bonus. (My one concern is that this gives them too high of an AC, but I figured it would balance out since they can't use their Int bonus -- their primary stat -- for AC if they use their chainmail proficiency.)

The wording of the prereqs needs editing, I agree. (Though a non-Swordmage wouldn't get full advantage of the path, who am I to deny them if they really want it?)

I had the most trouble with the 11th and 16th level features (aside from Knight's Warding, which I knew I wanted). For Slashing Dispel, I glanced through the Monster Manual, and it didn't look like there were so many monsters with Sustain powers that the ability became too powerful -- I think it's a bit of a specialty ability, but one that could be cool in the right situation.

I'll have to look at the numbers for Doomscarabs, for sure. Does anyone else have suggestions for it?