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Hybrid Character Playtest
- Thread starter invokethehojo
- Start date
On Puget Sound
First Post
One idea (high flavor but probably low effectiveness): A beastmaster ranger/ druid hybrid. Problem is, druid wants WIS/CON or WIS/DEX, while the beastmaster wants STR/WIS. Probably has to be a 3-stat character, WIS-STR-DEX. Make the beast form and the pet identical, so that people who didn't see him change form don't know which is which. Longtooth shifter brings even more animal flavor, and has appropriate stat bonuses.
Not sure how you would divide up the powers between beastmaster, beastform druid, area druid, and archery. Me, I'd skip the area druid spells (they are weak, at least at low level) and replace them with archery abilities.
Not sure how you would divide up the powers between beastmaster, beastform druid, area druid, and archery. Me, I'd skip the area druid spells (they are weak, at least at low level) and replace them with archery abilities.
Jack99
Adventurer
Dragon Magazine 375, as a playtest of what will appear in the PHB3.
rainsinger
First Post
So, played as a rogue/ranger tonight... a few things:
:: While obviously being able to only use sneak attack with rogue powers and quarry with hunter powers -seems- limiting, it's actually situationally very nice. More than once I didn't have combat advantage during an encounter, so I would generally default to the hunter powers (getting quarry damage), but if I had combat advantage I would usually use rogue abilities. Also, at 4th level (which I am in this campaign) there are some nice combos like... Hunter: Ruffling Sting (Minor Action) hit gets quarry and sets up combat advantage, then use a rogue attack (Standard Action) hit gets sneak attack damage. I got this off and nearly killed an enemy in a single attack round... and so on.
:: One thing I do think they need to improve on overall though is the playability pushing after level 11. If you dump your paragon path for the additional hybrid talent(s), it ends up really not being worth it for most hybrid combos. If anything, it seems reasonable that maybe there should just be paragon and epic tier hybrid upgrade feats that become available at 11 and 21, and allow the character to just do a paragon path as normal. Not sure about the balancing on that overall, but it seems like it would not be any more powerful overall than a standard character levelling through.
:: Oh, and I'm hoping that there will be a feat (or feats) that remove the hybrid restrictions on some abilities (particularly only being able to use -- as an example -- healing word once per encounter instead of 2, and so on).
Anyway, my 38 cents
:: While obviously being able to only use sneak attack with rogue powers and quarry with hunter powers -seems- limiting, it's actually situationally very nice. More than once I didn't have combat advantage during an encounter, so I would generally default to the hunter powers (getting quarry damage), but if I had combat advantage I would usually use rogue abilities. Also, at 4th level (which I am in this campaign) there are some nice combos like... Hunter: Ruffling Sting (Minor Action) hit gets quarry and sets up combat advantage, then use a rogue attack (Standard Action) hit gets sneak attack damage. I got this off and nearly killed an enemy in a single attack round... and so on.
:: One thing I do think they need to improve on overall though is the playability pushing after level 11. If you dump your paragon path for the additional hybrid talent(s), it ends up really not being worth it for most hybrid combos. If anything, it seems reasonable that maybe there should just be paragon and epic tier hybrid upgrade feats that become available at 11 and 21, and allow the character to just do a paragon path as normal. Not sure about the balancing on that overall, but it seems like it would not be any more powerful overall than a standard character levelling through.
:: Oh, and I'm hoping that there will be a feat (or feats) that remove the hybrid restrictions on some abilities (particularly only being able to use -- as an example -- healing word once per encounter instead of 2, and so on).
Anyway, my 38 cents
WalterKovacs
First Post
On the Ranger/Rogue Hybrid ... I had looked into it the first time, and it's possible to pick encounters (and dailies) for each such that nearly all of them are either free actions, minor actions or immediate actions (reaction/interupt). It requires the beast ranger option (which gives the rogue a nice flanking partner while you are at it) but you can basically get yourself 3 chances per encounter to get both sneak attack and hunter's quarry off per turn, not counting the dailies. Didn't try it all the way up to 30 though, so it might require giving up higher level powers to do so (I think it already did involved doing so at lower levels, although encounter powers at 3 and 7 aren't that far apart powerwise).
Eldorian
First Post
That is an awesome idea.... Character builder, here I come!
Nifft
Penguin Herder
This is brilliant. Have you posted it in the WotC CharOpt forum yet?
Cheers, -- N
legiondevil
First Post
A player in my 4E game asked me to try out the Hybrid rules because he was feeling a "lack of punch" for his Strength-based Cleric. I told him it would be fine, but he'd have to let me work up the character.
He ended up, to put it simply, brutal. In the last encounter of the night, he used Righteous Rage of Tempus (which is sickening enough in its own right with his +2 Executioner's Axe) with Brute Strike; opening up 41+3d12 points of "I'll mark him, by the way" savagery against an opponent. Of course, he's short 1 Healing Word, but Cure Serious Wounds and Healing Strike, not to mention Strengthen the Faithful, seem to help make up for the lacking since the group is considerably melee heavy (with only the Eladrin Wizard being ranged).
I don't think they're overpowered by any stretch, but I do believe they need a slight bit more tinkering before they're finally balanced all the way through.
He ended up, to put it simply, brutal. In the last encounter of the night, he used Righteous Rage of Tempus (which is sickening enough in its own right with his +2 Executioner's Axe) with Brute Strike; opening up 41+3d12 points of "I'll mark him, by the way" savagery against an opponent. Of course, he's short 1 Healing Word, but Cure Serious Wounds and Healing Strike, not to mention Strengthen the Faithful, seem to help make up for the lacking since the group is considerably melee heavy (with only the Eladrin Wizard being ranged).
I don't think they're overpowered by any stretch, but I do believe they need a slight bit more tinkering before they're finally balanced all the way through.
