[Essentails] What about conditions?

[Jan van Leyden]

Having ignored the Essentials up to now and happily playing C4e, I seem to have gotten out of sync more than I thought. The following quote from the Rituals thread caught my attention, though:

I always assumed that the RC included a nod to Rituals was for the same reason the other books have a mild nod to the "Marked" condition....

Does Essentials change or remove the Marked condition? If so, what do the defenders get as replacement? Are there even more changes to the Condition system?

I shudder at the thought of having to explain to my wife that her Swordmage's Aegis class feature with all the power, feat, and item support is gone...

 

[mneme]

Er, marked is still there; Essentials doesn't functionally change the rules in many substantial ways.

But Essentials defenders (eg, the ones out of the Essentials books) don't mark. Instead, they get auras that automatically treat adjacent enemies functionally as if they're marked (as long as they're not in another defender's aura or marked). Similarly, Essentials strikers don't designate targets (and a goodly number of pre-Essentials strikers don't either, but this is true for Essentials variants of classes whose power-based mode -did- designate a target; Assassin, Warlock, and Ranger). All part of making the Essentials classes have a lower mechanical load at the table than previous classes.

 

[Ahrimon]

actually an opponent can be subject to two aura's at the same time. But for each defender, their aura doesn't apply if the oppenent attacks an ally with an aura. But if you have two defenders placing thier aura on an opponent and the opponent attacks a third ally, say the leader for example, then both defenders would get to do thier punishment.

Makes being a striker in a group with two leaders a very safe job.

 

[Klaus]

The Rules Compendium still includes the Marked condition. But no class in the Heroes books can mark an opponent (as far as I can tell). The two defenders have instead a Defender Aura.

 

[Jan van Leyden]

Er, marked is still there; Essentials doesn't functionally change the rules in many substantial ways.

But Essentials defenders (eg, the ones out of the Essentials books) don't mark. Instead, they get auras that automatically treat adjacent enemies functionally as if they're marked (as long as they're not in another defender's aura or marked).

So defenders can have multiple marks now as long as the targets are in this aura? And the effect ends as soon as the target leaves the aura?

 

[Prestidigitalis]

actually an opponent can be subject to two aura's at the same time. But for each defender, their aura doesn't apply if the oppenent attacks an ally with an aura. But if you have two defenders placing thier aura on an opponent and the opponent attacks a third ally, say the leader for example, then both defenders would get to do thier punishment.

Good point. I'm about to play a Knight for the first time today and somehow the precise subtlety of the dynamic had eluded me, though I've probably read the rules about a hundred times.

 

[Prestidigitalis]

So defenders can have multiple marks now as long as the targets are in this aura? And the effect ends as soon as the target leaves the aura?

No. The aura is not a mark, nor is a creature in the aura marked. But the aura does serve the same purpose as a mark, and it applies to all adjacent enemies.

Yes, a target who leaves the aura is no longer affected by the aura. But in the process of leaving the aura the target will almost certainly suffer an attack, and may be greatly hindered if the attack hits. For example, a Knight with the Defend the Line stance active and the feat World Serpent's Grasp can knock prone an already slowed target if it tries to move away (but the target has to be slowed already before the attack, not as part of the attack.)

 

[Jan van Leyden]

So what does this "being in defender's aura" entail? Is it just a -2 to attacks versus other combatants or are there other effects involved as well?

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Soldier monsters now frequently mark and have heavy punishing mechanisms for mark violation.

So it is still there and kicking... but usually the player´s asses...

 

[abyssaldeath]

So what does this "being in defender's aura" entail? Is it just a -2 to attacks versus other combatants or are there other effects involved as well?

it's a minus 2 penalty if you attack someone other that the defender and the defender gets to make a opportunity attack if you attack his ally or shift. The attacking and shifting is actually part of another feature the Knight has called Battle Guardian.