How do you deal with Battle Standards?

[kaomera]

I never used it. Not once. I found that there was ALWAYS something better to do with my Standard Action.

I would hope that would be the case, but it's going to be in the hands of the swordmage, who regularly goes total defense... I think he feels (possibly rightly, but I'd hope not) that the mass-pull and slow plus possible OA is usually going to be better than many of his other attacks...

To me, I think it really depends on who the enemies are. Are the monsters smart enough to realize what the standard is doing? Do they realize that removing it from the ground can cause it to stop helping the PCs?

IMO, in the case of the hungry blade standard, yes the monsters realize that it is pulling them towards it and slowing them. They would also know that they can spend a standard action to remove it, and should know that doing so would end the effect (well, the slow effect would remain, but it would stop applying the pull and the slow on subsequent turns). I think it really hinges on whether the monsters have anything better to do with their actions than pull it up - and given that it pretty effectively traps them while it's operating I think a situation is going to come up where that's just the most reasonable thing for them to do...

With the battle standard, my DM ruled that if a Standard action was to place it, a standard action was to remove it. So, the Warden would move in and place the Standard. The baddies tank moved in and grabbed the standard, AoO to remove. The Baddies had the standard now. Placed it down. The two tanks when for 4 rounds of Gimmie-Gimmies before they won. Too funny.

None breakable, so can't be "attached", only removed.

Yeah, it's a standard action to place and a standard to remove - that's in the rules. The one the players are grabbing is from Dragon 381 and has an additional effect (beyond the AV1 ones) that pulling it out provokes OAs. And it's an encounter effect, so it shouldn't be able to be re-planted once it's pulled up.

As for not being attacked (I think that's what you meant), I agree; but that just begs the question: why give it resist at all, then?

 

[babinro]

I find standards to be well balanced...encounter powers that are standard actions that can be negated by an enemies standard action.

In my campaign, it was very common for the lurkers or minions to rush a standard at the cost of Opportunity Attacks. These things just add another fun layer to combat.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

I just think they're cool.

 

[Nemesis Destiny]

I just think they're cool.

I agree, they are cool. I'd love to actually get some use out of one sometime.

The problem I had was that it was a low-level standard (of Might, IIRC, which I believe is good for a whopping +1 damage), bought with 11th-level pocket change. Just didn't seem worth blowing a standard action in any of the fights that character got into.

He was a damage-focused Paladin, whose Holy Strike was good for 22-31 damage at 11th, so it just didn't seem worth doing at any point. I should give it to the Warlord in the group, or maybe the Druid.

 

[kaomera]

I just think they're cool.

That's good to know. =] If my players end up thinking they're cool, too, then it's all good.