Excerpt: Paragon paths (merged)

[Incenjucar]

I think a popular tactic will be to load all weapons up with minor cold damage with a ritual, then open up combat with an cold-based burst spell. Muahahahaha.

Lasting Frost is just an outright great ability.

Arcane Riposte will probably work really well with a warlord around, as I imagine plenty of "Everyone gets an AO!" powers to be in play.

 

[HeinorNY]

A normal wizard is making OAs at Str v AC for [W]+str damage.

A battlemage is making OAs at Dex v AC for 1d8+Int damage.

Assuming a normal wizard's weapon does less than 1d8 damage, and that a wizard is more likely to have good Dex than Str, the advantages are pretty clear. It changes wizard OAs from something trivial (I'd guess a flat 1d4 for a lot of wizards) into something meaningful.

Most wizards are not even armed, so if the OA/AoO rules remain somewhat the same as the 3.5 rules, they gain OA's even if wielding a wand.

 

[Lackhand]

I'm really interested in reading about multiclassing stuff simply because of the way a class is required for the path. Could a level nine fighter grab a level of ranger to rock the warden exploits? Also, does anyone think that there will be skill/feat based Paths? Assuming one multi-classes at 11 instead of taking a path, would they then be allowed to take either class's epic destiny?

...things I consider with glee.

Can you still grab individually packaged for-resale levels of ranger?

 

[Sojorn]

Can you still grab individually packaged for-resale levels of ranger?

I wouldn't think so.

Probably you can snipe a power or feature with a feat, but I think the "pick all the classes with the best level 1-2 features as a human" style of multiclassing is dead.

 

[NebtheNever]

A normal wizard is making OAs at Str v AC for [W]+str damage.

A battlemage is making OAs at Dex v AC for 1d8+Int damage.

Assuming a normal wizard's weapon does less than 1d8 damage, and that a wizard is more likely to have good Dex than Str, the advantages are pretty clear. It changes wizard OAs from something trivial (I'd guess a flat 1d4 for a lot of wizards) into something meaningful.

At this point we don't know what stats a Wizard is going to have high, but I'm inclined to think they might not focus on Dex all that much, because their AC and Reflex defense are coming from their Intelligence.

But this certainly seems useful considering that most Wizards will be either unarmed or carrying an orb/wand etc.

 

[TwinBahamut]

Honestly, I am a little disappointed. I was hoping Paragon Paths would have a bit more power and flexibility (not to mention flavor text, though I suppose most of that was cut for the purposes of keeping the article short). Right now, they don't seem to really add anything special for a character...

I guess I was hoping for something that let you transcend your starting class, but right now it look a lot more like a repackaged set of normal class options. While I may change my opinion after seeing more of the game in action, it doesn't really seem to be the Fire Emblem style Class Change that I was hoping for.

 

[ShockMeSane]

Wow, great info, best preview article yet. A few thoughts:

With just the Lasting Frost talent (I think its safe to assume we may see feats something like this for other elements, also we have seen a +1 acid/cold dmg feat), a wizard with 20 int will do 1d8+10 damage on an opportunity attack on anyone he has hit with cold damage. 11-18 damage, from what we have seen from the way damage scales, is definitely a non-trivial amount in 4E. Would definitely make the Battle Mage a bit more threat on the battlefield in any case, as I don't imagine they can make OA's with Implements at all.

Star Pact Warlocks are going to have some crazy scary (haha) fear effects. 2 Dice on saves and take the lowest roll is going to definitely prolong those negative effects. It's interesting that the Warlock as a class seems to have a lot of "debuffs". They look like they aren't going to be as intense damage-wise as the Ranger/Rogue (purely hypothetical at this point) but are shaping up to be something in-between a Striker and a Controller.

A few people have mentioned hoping for Paragon Paths without class restriction, and from everything WotC has said I think your hopes will be realized. I distinctly remember hearing from a Dev that every class will have multiple options of Paragon Path. I believe they were simply previewing 1 class-specific paragon path of each class because that is the easiest thing for us to reference based on the preview information that has come before.

The Paragon Paths dont necessarily add a whole ton of new crunch to your character, but I must say it seems like a well balanced amount. I'm so looking forward to playing around with this stuff!

 

[DandD]

Honestly, I am a little disappointed. I was hoping Paragon Paths would have a bit more power and flexibility (not to mention flavor text, though I suppose most of that was cut for the purposes of keeping the article short). Right now, they don't seem to really add anything special for a character...

I guess I was hoping for something that let you transcend your starting class, but right now it look a lot more like a repackaged set of normal class options. While I may change my opinion after seeing more of the game in action, it doesn't really seem to be the Fire Emblem style Class Change that I was hoping for.

Nah, I think that would have really been too much for a mere pen&paper-game. Adding some bonus thingies seems really to be the only way for non-computer-games to do that, without it bogging down into too complex re-calculations and stuff... That's what I think, at least.

But I sure hope to be wrong.

 

[ShockMeSane]

Honestly, I am a little disappointed. I was hoping Paragon Paths would have a bit more power and flexibility (not to mention flavor text, though I suppose most of that was cut for the purposes of keeping the article short). Right now, they don't seem to really add anything special for a character...

I guess I was hoping for something that let you transcend your starting class, but right now it look a lot more like a repackaged set of normal class options. While I may change my opinion after seeing more of the game in action, it doesn't really seem to be the Fire Emblem style Class Change that I was hoping for.

Yea, seeing as you basically only get 3-4 Paragon features, and 1 encounter/utility/daily power from your paragon path, it certainly isn't a redefinition of your character, rather more of a specialization. Keep in mind that you will continue gaining base class powers throughout levels 11-20 at the rate you did from levels 1-10, so it appears that the base class you choose is by far the most "defining" decision you are going to make.

I for one like this approach, as Paragon Paths are small enough to be easily homebrewed with relative balance, and it increases the number (and hence diversity) that can be incorporated into future books. However, I can definitely see how people expecting a Star-Pact Paragon Warlock to be a totally different play experience than a Fey-Pact might be a little dissapointed. Though with all those buffs to "fear" abilities, they may actually play quite a bit differently in-game.

(edited because I didn't proof-read first like a nub)

 

[Kobold Avenger]

We're being presented with the minimal excerpts of paragon paths, as I'm sure the full write-ups will probably have some sort of "suggested builds" entry associated with each of them, and maybe a bunch of more fluff to go with it, and possible multiple powers to pick for some.

I know there's already a mention of a paragon path that lets a wizard use a blade for an implement, so it's possible that's one that isn't a 1 class path.