Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Enchanted Trinkets Complete--a hardcover book containing over 500 magic items for your D&D games!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="DracoSuave" data-source="post: 5045572" data-attributes="member: 71571">Alright.Starting with attributes:Subtract ten from your attribute, then divide in half, round down.  That's your attribute bonus for everything involving that attribute.  Really simple, and no need to consult a complicated and arbitrary table.  No percentile strengths.  Just a clean, easy, consistant number.Defenses (cause that's the real gist of it.)Your old saving throw tables as well as AC have been replaced with Defenses and they all work more or less the same way.Instead of being numbers -the defender- tries to roll above, they are numbers the -attacker- tries to roll above.  They are really easy to calculate too.Fortitude, Reflex, and Will all work the same way:  You take 10, add half your level rounded down, add in one of two attribute bonuses that feed it (for example, your Fortitude uses either Strength or Constitution, you pick which one).  Then add in any other bonuses that apply.AC works similiarly, take 10, add half your level rounded down, then if you have light armor, add in your Dex or Int bonus.  Lastly, add in your armor bonus, and whatever other bonuses you may have.  PowersEvery class has powers divided into five rough groups.  At-will attack powers, Encounter attack powers, Daily attack powers, Utility powers, and Class feature powers.Class feature powers vary between classes--you might get one, or many, or none at all.  The other four are gained (and replaced) as you gain levels.  You start with 2 at-will powers, and those are your bread-and-butter attacks.  Then you have a power that you can attack with once per fight, and an attack you can use once per day.  And so on.Forget 'What do I use to roll for a melee attack?'  One class might have powers that key off of Charisma to make a melee attack.  Another might use Constitution to make a ranged attack.  It varies from class to class... Wizards (as you'd expect) make Intellegence based attacks, whereas a Fighter (as you'd expect) make Strength based attacks.Each power uses a specific attribute to calculate it's attack bonus.  You do this by taking half your level (rounded down), adding in the attribute bonus for that power, and then other applicable modifiers (including a bonus if you're using a weapon power with a weapon you're proficient in.)Everyone is the same, and everyone is also differentBecause all classes use the same way to activate their powers, the classes are differentiated instead by class features, and by what their powers are capable of doing.  To focus a class, every class is given one of four roles, and those roles correspond to each class's role in a battle.  Strikers are your primary damage engines.  While everyone deals damage as a matter of course, Strikers are simply the best at keeping damage going, either through consistancy, or through damage bonuses.  Some strikers are ranged, some are melee, and some can do both roles as necessary.  It depends on the class.Defenders are your primary damage sponges.  They aren't bad at damage, but their primary goal is to take the hits.  In previous editions they did that 'by being at the front' but in this game they have abilities that penalize a given opponent for attacking other players.  More than just being good at taking attacks, they're also good at keeping enemies away from other players.  Some of them do so through sheer physical dominance (the Fighter),  but others actually use teleportation magic (Swordmage) or the ability to transform into forces of nature (Warden) to accomplish this task.Leaders are the party buffers.  Now, the majority of Leaders don't just sit there, cast healing spells, and that's it... they're -also- in the thick of combat.  Nor are they restricted to healing or defensive buffs... or even magic.  Warlords, for example, are a completely non-magical leader that uses tactics or inspiring deeds to compel their allies to greater deeds.  Bards spin tales that cause reality to warp and make those tales true.  Gone are the days of 'Must have a cleric.'  There's 5 different types of leaders, and each does their shtick in a completely different and interesting way.Controllers are the complement to Leaders.  They toss enemies about, set up walls, create killzones.  They're masters of the art of the battlefield -itself-, either by creating barriers, by compelling behavior changes from their enemies, or simply by punishing enemy formations through large-area-effect magics.</blockquote>

Verification