Martial Power 2 - Comments, Reviews, Noteworthy Stuff?

[DracoSuave]

I kind of wish they had included the section, "What is a Martial Power"

Batman uses Martial power. Conan uses Martial power. The Punisher uses Martial power. Zhuge Liang uses Martial power.

It's rediculous superheroic levels of training or ability without involving magic.

 

[Mengu]

I was a little disappointed that I didn't find something particularly exciting for my Dragonborn Warlord. The Paragon Paths didn't seem much more interesting than before, but maybe I missed something?

Inspiring Breath jumped out at me as a decent option, at least during heroic.

 

[jbear]

Marauding Ranger is a build based around throwing things and charging things. Often in the same motion. Horned Helms and Vanguard weapons will find their way in there. As will Bastard Swords. The big question is whether Marauder Fighting Style or Hunter Fighting Style is best to go with it... do you want the TWD and the extra movement, or do you want Quick-Draw, quick sheath of weapons, and the +4 to defenses against OAs from ranged attacks.

Cause then you're going Tratnyrs and Mordenkrads, my friend.

I don't think they missed it. Why do you need 'barbarian' at all when the power above it is 1[W]+Strength+Wisdom damage and can be used instead of MBA on a charge. If wisdom is 18, it's better than howling strike.

Miss it? Dare I say that sort of thing is intentional.

The sky is not falling.

As for the second... again, you're saying that a power is broken because... let me get this straight, in heroic tier it does the same amount of damage as the single-class build provided you in the booK?

Seriously. It's a ranger. Heaven forbid they get a build where Twin-Strike isn't the weapon of choice.

Wow... 18 Wis... yes lethal. But your ac would be around 14 and your reflexes 11... your hp are going to be low with con 10... so, your probably going to die very fast.

 

[davethegame]

I kind of wish they had included the section, "What is a Martial Power", which gives a fluff explanation for the power source. Another section describes in character ways that one might describe/explain regaining of your expended exploits.

I didn't need such a thing, however maybe the existence of it could have cooled some really ridiculous edition war arguments and complaints about martial powers being "magic".

They seemed to have a greater amount of fluff and flavor text than most of the 4E books have, which also might appeal to some. There's even a nice little section using your choice of weapon (flavor wise) be distinctive and expressive regarding your character, beyond the numbers, and a martial character's relationship with them (as an example).

I really liked that section on what martial characters do during a short rest- that seemed to seal the explanation to me.

 

[Tav_Behemoth]

I can attest that online arguments about why martial powers are "magic" since they use the same limited-use mechanics as spells and prayers definitely inspired the writing of that section on regaining martial exploits.

 

[Trainz]

As most power books, it's a lot of "meh" stuff with a few "OMG!!!" gems.

I play two characters (in two games), a bow ranger (18) and a warlord (14), so here are my must haves. Doesn't hurt that I'm currently level'ling up BOTH characters between game sessions!

Warlord: Direct The Strike (at will). Warlords are notoriously poor in AC, HP's and Surges, so it's nice to have the option to make your allies attack from afar.

Warlord: Fight On (feat). An extra Inspiring Word every fight? My Battle Captain will have one, yes please.

Ranger: Invigorating Stride (Utility 2/Encounter). Finally, a way for my ranger to use his second wind every encounter without having to sacrifice a standard action.

And for my particular builds... that's about it. Not much, but it did allow me to get rid of a few "meh..." things on my characters and replace them with "sweet!" things.

 

[DracoSuave]

Wow... 18 Wis... yes lethal. But your ac would be around 14 and your reflexes 11... your hp are going to be low with con 10... so, your probably going to die very fast.

Longtooth shifter can go 18/18, 13 Con, once bloodied get +2 to damage rolls, have regeneration which makes up for their slightly less constitution...


...and have Chainmail armor.


Not a bad little combo.

 

[N0Man]

Batman uses Martial power. Conan uses Martial power. The Punisher uses Martial power. Zhuge Liang uses Martial power.

It's rediculous superheroic levels of training or ability without involving magic.

I get it. I never had a problem with the flavor of martial power flavors. I was saying that it would have been nice to have it earlier to shut up the absurd "Everyone is a caster in 4E now! This sucks!" nonsense that I kept seeing parroted on the boards. People would give reasonable explanations for it (as WotC did in MP2), and those who already had a bias would just attack it anyway because it was non-official, or they had a preconceived bias so they didn't want to consider it as legitimate. It was quite tiresome.

 

[Benlo]

I get it. I never had a problem with the flavor of martial power flavors. I was saying that it would have been nice to have it earlier to shut up the absurd "Everyone is a caster in 4E now! This sucks!" nonsense that I kept seeing parroted on the boards. People would give reasonable explanations for it (as WotC did in MP2), and those who already had a bias would just attack it anyway because it was non-official, or they had a preconceived bias so they didn't want to consider it as legitimate. It was quite tiresome.

I was just a lurker here at the time, but oy vey, you're right. Some very nasty bickering was to be had there

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

As most power books, it's a lot of "meh" stuff with a few "OMG!!!" gems.

I play two characters (in two games), a bow ranger (18) and a warlord (14), so here are my must haves. Doesn't hurt that I'm currently level'ling up BOTH characters between game sessions!

Warlord: Direct The Strike (at will). Warlords are notoriously poor in AC, HP's and Surges, so it's nice to have the option to make your allies attack from afar.

They are? Not that I'd say the power is bad, but my Warlord is definitely not lacking in the AC department. Of course I spend feats to use all shields and armor and have shield specialisation.