Windjammer
Adventurer
If you look at the table on page 29 of Player's Handbook 1, you'll see a codification of "Total Powers Known" per level. For instance, a level 1 PC gets 2 at-wills, and one encounter and daily power each. At level 30, he still only gets 2 at-wills, but 4 encounter and daily powers each.
Here's my question: why is that so? Why not lift that limit and say a PC of level x can select any power of level x (or less) of his class?
To see that this doesn't need to break down, let's look at our level 30 PC. Obviously, if we give him any powers he'll choose to select dailies only, and won't ever hit at-wills or encounter powers (on the presumption that these are inferior to daily's).
But that consequence is easily avoided. You see, the assumption of a 30th level character isn't so much that he only knows his 10 powers in total (discounting utility powers for the moment). It's rather that he can't avail himself of more than 4 daily's and 4 encounter powers before he has to resort to at-will powers. But you can totally keep that constraint in place, and still open the range of options the player chooses from.
You see, the only shift here is that a player doesn't choose his powers when he hits a level. Rather, he chooses his power during the adventuring day, and thus makes his choice anew with the rise of each new day (just as in, you know, Vancian magic!). If, by round 5, he's already used up 4 encounter powers - and these could be any of his class's powers in the PHB provided he meets the level requirement - then he must resort to at-wills (or blow one of his 4 daily's). If, by encounter 5, he has already blown his 4 daily powers - whichever he chose for that particular day - then he must cope just by using encounter and at-will powers alone.
So here's my idea. Here are my questions.
1. Has anyone tried this?
2. Can anyone tell me which problems one may run into running 4E this way?
Here's my question: why is that so? Why not lift that limit and say a PC of level x can select any power of level x (or less) of his class?
To see that this doesn't need to break down, let's look at our level 30 PC. Obviously, if we give him any powers he'll choose to select dailies only, and won't ever hit at-wills or encounter powers (on the presumption that these are inferior to daily's).
But that consequence is easily avoided. You see, the assumption of a 30th level character isn't so much that he only knows his 10 powers in total (discounting utility powers for the moment). It's rather that he can't avail himself of more than 4 daily's and 4 encounter powers before he has to resort to at-will powers. But you can totally keep that constraint in place, and still open the range of options the player chooses from.
You see, the only shift here is that a player doesn't choose his powers when he hits a level. Rather, he chooses his power during the adventuring day, and thus makes his choice anew with the rise of each new day (just as in, you know, Vancian magic!). If, by round 5, he's already used up 4 encounter powers - and these could be any of his class's powers in the PHB provided he meets the level requirement - then he must resort to at-wills (or blow one of his 4 daily's). If, by encounter 5, he has already blown his 4 daily powers - whichever he chose for that particular day - then he must cope just by using encounter and at-will powers alone.
So here's my idea. Here are my questions.
1. Has anyone tried this?
2. Can anyone tell me which problems one may run into running 4E this way?
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