Could you compare the two types of warpriests for us as they played in an actual game? Does one or the other seem more useful/wanted?
Essentials Game Day recap
- Thread starter OnlineDM
- Start date
I suspect the point is that you do have someone say, "Well, Jed has been down for a few rounds but only failed one save, so we can keep focusing fire on the Kobold Sorcelator, and tend to Jed next round." I've definitely seen people say, "He's got two death saves left, we can wait to get to him."
If the DM rolls, you know that you've got maybe one round of safety... but after that first save or two, you have no idea if you've got a few more rounds to tend to your companion, or if they are already at the verge of death.
Now, you can still make a tactical decision here - do you make sure your friend survives, or focus on taking down the bad guy? But your decision now depends on unknown variables. That can heighten the tension - you now are taking a chance with a PC's life when you make your call, rather than reducing it to an easy equation (If PC is within 1 failed save of dying, tend to PC; else, kill monsters.)
Now, that certainly isn't universally true, and even when it is, there can be advantages, as you say, to making those decisions while fully informed.
All that said, I'm likely to stick with players rolling in my own games, if only for those occasional moments of glory when players roll 20s - and the fact that it lets players feel like they have some agency over their own fates, even if the dice roll is just as random regardless of who rolls it. But I think there is room for campaigns that want to keep things more immersive, or for systems that bridge the line between the two.
tuxgeo
Adventurer
After more research online:
Astral Games in Medford and Klamath Falls have a website. Their gaming schedule lists the events starting today and showing one week ahead. (MtG, WoW, Pokemon, Warhammer, Lotus, LARP, D&D, etc.)
Castle Hill Games in Grants Pass has a website. (MtG, D&D Encounters, Warhammer, Yu-gi-oh, Pokemon). They also have a list of upcoming events.
[Edit: Castle Hill Games was already included in ENWorld's list of Friendly Local Gaming Stores (on the menu bar on each page).
I have submitted the two locations of Astral Games for inclusion on the same list.]
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cdrcjsn
First Post
They played somewhat similarly to one another, but I did notice that the sunpriest was more defense oriented and the storm priest was oriented more towards offense.
The sun domain at-wills for example either granted resist all or granted a save. The storm priest at-will either increased damage or attacked a non-AC defense. The sun channel divinity granted a save, while the storm increased damage. Both were used often since they were minor actions.
My sun priest's basic melee was pitiful (8 Str), but the storm priest considers one of his at-wills as a basic melee, so was more effective on OAs.
nookiemonster
First Post
There were two warpriests in your group? My group had only one warpriest pre-gen, the storm domain one. Other characters were Lucan, the enchanter; Harbek and Brannus, Slayers; and the elf and halfling thieves. The overall makeup of the party was very offensive with four strikers and a Storm warpriest! I think the Sun domain warpriest would have been more useful for us.
cdrcjsn
First Post
I would definitely opt for a sunpriest for the ability to grant saving throws. The stormpriest deals extra damage, which can be replicated by any striker. Being able to hand out saving throws is a much rarer ability.
cdrcjsn
First Post
Since the Essentials books were already out, our DM let me create a new character so I statted out Pholtus in about 5 minutes, gave him a +1 sword (everyone else had one magic item), and was ready to go.
