Friggen Laser Beams

[baberg]

Temporary hit points are, well, temporary, and they don't stack.

That's true, but seriously, if I were playing a Cleric I'd be using this ability all the time to keep the tank going. Temporary HPs drain first, right? So each time I hit my tank gets a 4 HP "bubble", so that 5 point minion damage actually only hurts him by 1 "real" HP. Then the next round comes along and I hit again, he's got his 4-point bubble back.

Seems quite strong.

 

[WhatGravitas]

Seems quite strong.

Quite strong or too strong?

It's certainly nifty and useful and conserves resources - but then, you can only do that for one character. And negating damage is not as powerful as doing damage to an enemy - usually.

Don't forget that the cleric is probably stuck with that power forever, even if the damage scales.

Cheers, LT.

 

[Kordeth]

Quite strong or too strong?

It's certainly nifty and useful and conserves resources - but then, you can only do that for one character. And negating damage is not as powerful as doing damage to an enemy - usually.

This power does both, though.

Don't forget that the cleric is probably stuck with that power forever, even if the damage scales.

No he isn't--remember retraining.

 

[Alkiera]

This power does both, though.



No he isn't--remember retraining.

Except it's an at-will, which we don't know if there are better ones at higher levels. Pre-release consensus seems to think there aren't, they just get double effect at epic tier.

And while you could choose a different at-will from the list, they're all about the same level of power for the cleric. Zot a guy, heal another guy. Hit a guy with a hammer, provide AC bonus for someone else. That kind of thing.

 

[baberg]

Quite strong or too strong?

I won't know until I read the rest of the powers that the Cleric could've picked, or the powers other classes can pick at that level. Also, as others have said, there's the opportunity cost - yeah, I can keep the tank alive, but what if the Warlock just got a face full of fireball?

Plus it's dependent on the Cleric hitting his target, so I can't keep the bubble up continuously unless I'm also a really good roller.

 

[ProfessorCirno]

I think you should have posted this over here, at least if you were looking for a lot of people who agree with you.

Cheers

Wow, let's not sound TOO dickish, shall we?




I think it's lame that all clerics use "radiant" energy, and this is especially odd following their decision to very specifically allow evil paladins. So paladins can be evil, but clerics can't...?

 

[Voadam]

No. Just the notion that all community religious leaders of a god have to be Clerics.

Clerics in this edition seem to have been aligned to an armored, fighting divine caster wielding radiant energy.

It doesn't make sense for that archetype to be serving:
1) God of Darkness
2) God of Peace/Tranquility
3) God of Monks
4) God of Pies

The community priest role of a religion is no longer tied to just Clerics so there is no need to pigeonhole the class as one serving a community or try to fit a role that doesn't fit the class (like the cult leader of a god of Necromancy).

The God of Battle could very well have a high priest that is a Warlord for instance rather than a cleric and fulfill all needed roles of a religious leader in a community by taking a single feat (ritual caster).

I don't see your point.

Clerics have always been armored fighting divine casters with either positive or negative energy.

4e makes them no less suitable for representing 2, 3, or 4 than they were in basic, 1e, 2e, 3e, 3.5, etc.

There were 0 level NPCs in older editions for noncasters, specialty priests in 2e, experts in 3e, and Unearthed Arcana variant clerics and other classes in 3.5 that could handle different archtypes than straight clerics for priests in older editions.

4e does not change whether priests must be clerics or not.

 

[Voadam]

I think it's lame that all clerics use "radiant" energy, and this is especially odd following their decision to very specifically allow evil paladins. So paladins can be evil, but clerics can't...?

Radiant is not good, its just positive energy connected to divinity and astral space. It applies to evil as well as good gods now, just as angels serve evil as well as good gods.

 

[DandD]

People still make the mistake to think that Radiant Energy is automatically good-powered. Let them time to be de-conditionized from the 3.X-experience.

 

[Rechan]

Pretty sure the only thing we've seen that use Necrotic damage are undead and (I think?) demons. Maybe shadow demons.

So I'm willing to bet that the only source of Necrotic damage is the Shadowfell.