[Exploits] Ranger Daily: Split the Tree

[Knight Otu]

While makes no sense at all. Though obviously nonsensical daily restrictions is something I'll have to learn to live with.

I can kind of, sort of, buy the idea that a first-level character needs to specifically prepare the arrows to actually do the deed beforehand in a more time-consuming fashion (he's no brilliant master yet), and only prepares two arrows as such to maintain a healthy amount of normal arrows. Perhaps a higher-level character can do it on the fly as an encounter power.

No, the complaint, as I understood it, was that it was a bit much for the "local woodsman of Daleville Village (who is a level 1 ranger)" (my emphasis) to be able to do this.

It might have been your point, I don't think it was the point of this thread.

In your emphasis, you're overlooking the "mysticall make two arros change direction in midair" and "latent telekinetic abilities" points the OP makes. That very much sounds like a complaint about quasi-magical abilities to me.

 

[Zinovia]

Now, for the real puzzler - How do you explain this Exploit with, say, crossbows? It is a Ranged Weapon power, not a Ranged Weapon - Bow power (or however that would be written).

Post-it notes. Use the slightly tacky post-it glue to hold the crossbow bolts together long enough to fire them, but then it comes off in mid-flight, allowing the bolts, which were aimed at slightly different angles to strike each of their targets independently.

We all know that adventuring parties routinely carry post-it notes for marking dungeons as they go along. Dungeon denizens often find themselves bemused in attempting to puzzle out notes they may come across which read "Sekrit Dor", "TARP!!!", "screeming mushrum things dat way". Which is why you should delegate note writing to your barbarian. It gives you a chance to sneak up and whack the BBEG while he's holding the barely legible post-it note and muttering to himself about his fortress being invaded by illiterate morons.

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

(my emphasis)

It is indeed your emphasis.

In your emphasis, you're overlooking the "mysticall make two arros change direction in midair" and "latent telekinetic abilities" points the OP makes. That very much sounds like a complaint about quasi-magical abilities to me.

Don't forget the magikal japenerse anime abilities. It's important to underline how anime (and, if possible, videogamey) 4e is. Otherwise, people might not evince the appropriate levels of angst toward the system.

 

[Wulfram]

I can kind of, sort of, buy the idea that a first-level character needs to specifically prepare the arrows to actually do the deed beforehand in a more time-consuming fashion (he's no brilliant master yet), and only prepares two arrows as such to maintain a healthy amount of normal arrows. Perhaps a higher-level character can do it on the fly as an encounter power.

Arrows aren't, as I understand it, so perishable that they have to be freshly prepared every day.

In your emphasis, you're overlooking the "mysticall make two arros change direction in midair" and "latent telekinetic abilities" points the OP makes. That very much sounds like a complaint about quasi-magical abilities to me.

It sounds very much like a complaint about low level characters having quasi-magical abilities to me.

If it wasn't, and, since I'm currently too low level to read peoples minds, it may not have been, I hereby make such a complaint.

 

[Carnivorous_Bean]

Dangit, sorry, double post!

 

[Carnivorous_Bean]

Personally, abilities like that made me wince in 3e, and they still make me wince in 4e.

That said, I won't have much problem justifying it to myself as firing two shots in very fast succession. Since I'm the DM in most of our games, though, and I know my players well by now, I just know that they're going to mock this ability every time it comes up in play, and probably complain about its idiocy, too. They're not as good at ignoring or redefining comic-book stunts as I am.

Yes, I will hear about it every. single. time. someone looks in their PHB and sees it. :\ That's why I personally wish that they wouldn't put stuff like this in, when a more rational and less cartoony explanation would achieve precisely the same effect.

 

[Engilbrand]

This is not our reality. This is a different reality. In the D&D reality, Heroes heal much faster than people do in our reality. The rules of physics are not the same as they are for us. In D&D, I find it perfectly plausible that someone could get slapped by a dragon's tail, stand up, take a breather, run up and jump at the dragon's face. 20 foot jump in Full Plate? Makes perfect sense. High velocity slam into a cave wall? Take a second to feel better. It makes sense because it's not our world. Gods exist there. Magic exists there. Strange creatures and immortality. Planes of reality shift around and the embodiments of thoughts wander the landscape. And the idea that a Hero, even a low level Hero, can fire arrows that defy some of the physics of OUR reality is strange and unrealistic?

 

[Knight Otu]

Arrows aren't, as I understand it, so perishable that they have to be freshly prepared every day.

Good thing that the claim was just that they might need to be prepared, not prepared daily.
Yes, there are some logic holes, no one denies that (The ranger could prepare more arrows with enough downtime, for example), and the official fluff (or rather lack thereof) is poor. I'm just saying that I can grudgingly accept such an explanation as posted earlier, for bows (see my question regarding crossbows). I might add that the low-level ranger needs perfect wind conditions that occur rarely enough to use the power reliably use to my personal explanation (and if there's a higher-level encounter version, the ranger may have learned to anticipate the wind conditions better). Or something. Depends on if there's something missing from the fluff we've seen.

 

[FadedC]

It sounds very much like a complaint about low level characters having quasi-magical abilities to me.

If it wasn't, and, since I'm currently too low level to read peoples minds, it may not have been, I hereby make such a complaint.

So you are claiming it's a quasi-magical ability then, which makes the previous point pretty valid. As for low level characters with magical abilities, that's true for pretty much every class in D&D. The new ranger at least at lvl 1 actually looks far less magical then his 3e counterpart. Remember the old ranger cast SPELLS at low level.

 

[Cadfan]

Minimum Greater Manyshot level = 6
Minimum Split the Tree level = 1

But Rapid Shot is what, level 2?