Hey guys i have just a few questions about 4E that I'm sure you guys can answer.
1. Aside from a +2 to your speed, how does running work?
Saagel's answer is right on.
2. if i move 5 squares, and the very last movement, i end next to an enemy does he get an opportunity attack, or does i have to move away/past him in order for the opportunity attack?
No. You provoke for moving through or out of an enemy's threatened area. (This means if your opponent has lots of threatening reach, it could provoke an opportunity attack if you move toward it.)
3.How do rituals work, and what do you do in order to get components?
First you need the Ritual Caster feat or some other feat that gives you its benefits (in the PH1, only Ritual Caster gives you this benefit). Many spellcaster classes give you this for free. Note that a non-caster
can take the feat, but the requirements are training in either Arcana or Religion, so you're making a conscious decision to do this in-character.
Second, you need to master a ritual. This means adding it to your ritual book (this is part of your spellbook if you're a wizard), and you can usually only do this if the ritual is your level or lower. Clerics start with the Gentle Repose ritual trained (plus you get to pick one other one) and wizards start with several and gain more every five levels for free. Otherwise you generally buy or find (often on a creature's corpse) ritual scrolls.
Third, you need to be trained in a ritual's key skill. Most use Arcana, Heal, Nature or Religion, but some of the more exotic ones use Diplomacy, Insight, etc.
Fourth, you need components and/or foci. Some rituals require you to expend one or more healing surges as a component. Arcana rituals require arcane reagents. Heal rituals require ointments and so forth. Nature requires rare herbs. Religion requires sanctified incense. You can use residuum to substitute any of these.
You can buy components at a magic shop, assuming your campaign has them. (And if there's more than a few casters in your campaign, there should be. In my Dark Sun campaign, most forms of magic are outlawed, so the risk is you could get arrested going there. Also, most magic is sold by elves, and they're not trustworthy. However, it's an inherent bonus campaign, so the PCs don't get too shafted.) Some components (eg rare herbs) can be scrounged for. Residuum can be created by dissolving a magic item with the Disenchant Magic Item ritual, or by removing residuum from the stomach of a rust monster that has rusted a magic item into nothingness.
Some rituals require assistance if you want to spread the benefits to allies. For instance, Water Breathing requires your allies to participate in the ritual. They don't need to make skill checks or anything, although they can assist; this does mean they're not out fighting, or breaking down doors, or searching for treasure, etc, while you're performing the ritual with them.
Ritual scrolls can in some cases be used even by people without the Ritual Caster feat.
Each ritual has a casting time, sometimes as short as a standard action but usually 5 minutes or more. Some can take 8 hours to perform. They also usually have a duration. They can be detected with the Arcana skill, although that requires an active search. (Otherwise illusion rituals wouldn't work.)
Each ritual has a category, eg Divination (information from the future), Scrying, Deception (illusions), Travel, etc.
4. How does the Shaman spirit companion work with a hybrid character.
I avoid the hybrid rules like the plague, so I can't answer this one.
5. How can you kill the summoned animal that a druid summons with his dailies?
IIRC the summoned animal has a certain number of hit points, equal to the druid's healing surge or bloodied value, so you can just overwhelm it with damage. You're probably better off killing the druid though.
6. Do shamans and druids have to be holding their totems in order to get the bonus from them, or does it just just have to be like, around their neck?
I believe you have to hold them. Only holy symbols are handless, I think. It's not much of a problem though; you could use a two-handed weapon like a spear, then have the totem "hang off you" from a strap or something. You can hold a two-handed weapon in one hand while casting, you just need both hands to swing it.
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