May previews

[A'koss]

Just finished reading the orc variants... they certainly love their axes.

The Bloodrager has a couple of nasty powers which can really stick it to the unprepared:

Wounded Retaliation (immediate reaction, when hit by an adjacent enemy; at-will)
The orc bloodrager makes a melee basic attack against the enemy.

- Nasty... this'll really add up against the melee-types.


Blood for Blood ✦ Healing, Weapon
When it hits a bloodied enemy, the orc bloodrager deals an extra 5 damage and regains 10 hit points.

- Notice there's no conditions on that ability to limit it's use, good thing Wounded Retaliation only allows basic attacks...

 

[MaelStorm]

Wed 05/28: Rituals (PH)

1 week before the Core Books are out. It's better than nothing!

 

[Rowsdower]

I feel we're getting shafted on the next two fridays. Seems like they are gonna repeat the info for magical gear. But that's just a guess.
Also, did we really get anything new out of the warlord's powers? seems like a very lite preview today.
Ah well. guess I'll get back to craving for as much for 4e info as I can find till monday.

 

[Stalker0]

Also, did we really get anything new out of the warlord's powers? seems like a very lite preview today.

We got 3 traps, 2 new powers, and 6 or so new monsters!! You just can't please some people.

 

[The Sword 88]

I like the idea of cheap 1 hp fodder, especially since the PCs will not know in advance what is fodder and what is not. That way they will hopefully burn some encounter powers on the minions.

 

[Dark080matter]

All I have to say is... that's a whole lotta WAAAAGH to be had in just 3 pages!

I'm extremely excited about what they're doing to humanoid enemies in this edition. Orc Bloodragers who cause 5 extra damage and heal 10 every time they hit a bloodied PC? Bring it on! It's a delightful bit of flavor that the dedicated ranged Skirmisher of the Orcs uses throwing axes instead of something pathetic... like a .

I'm very happy that the Orc "Cleric" has become a specialized warrior buffer, that just seems perfect for the warlike followers of Gork and Mo.... Gruumsh, that is! Eye of Wrath is a wonderfully flavorful staple power for them.

As expected, Traps and Encounter Building look fun and easy, too. I cackle to think that I will be able to DM for the first time with 4th edition... all those other suckers in my group who DMed 3.Math are gonna be pretty envious. I'd feel bad for them too, if it wasn't for the fact that I'll be enjoying myself so much just challenging them all with these wonderful creatures.

And for 1 HP minions at ninth level... please! You obviously haven't watched much Lord of the Rings. If I'm going to send some Orcs at the PCs, I'm not going to throw in 4 Orcs and hope they stick. They're going to be swarming into and over the PC defense line like Helm's Deep all over again. If that means basic warriors who die to one solidly placed sword swing (or Arrow, or Fireball), so be it. There's plenty more where they came from, and with marauding bloodthirsty Champions like these.... who really needs elite mooks?

 

[Bishmon]

We got 3 traps, 2 new powers, and 6 or so new monsters!! You just can't please some people.

They were two basic 1st-level at-wills, of which we've seen a dozen. They've run out of ways to preview 1[W] + small rider effect.

And the six versions of orcs? I guess that's nice, but we've seen dozens of monsters, including similar mid-heroic humanoids. Seeing these orcs didn't reveal anything about the game except the exact specifics of these orcs.

The traps, though, were a nice addition, seeing as that was one of the things we knew pretty much nothing about.

All in all, I was underwhelmed, especially since WotC billed this as an extensive preview from all three rulebooks. I just don't feel that it really showed off anything in the game we didn't already know, with the exception of the three traps.

If you disagree, fine. But there's no need for snide comments like 'you just can't please some people'.

 

[MaelStorm]

Suprised about Orcs:
1. All Chaotic Evil

What is even more surprising is that I haven't encountered any Lawful Evil alignment yet. This support my theory that there will be no more Lawful Evil alignment in 4E.

 

[Asmor]

Man, for some reason now I want to play in an evil campaign as a snivelly little warlord, totally useless on his own, screaming "ATTACK THAT ONE OVER THERE, FOOL!" to the dragonborn tank.

That at will power is absolutely mind-blowing to me in its elegance and simplicity. It truly carves out a niche for the Warlord in a way I never would have thought of. I'm amazed that they actually managed to make the warlord into a class which helps its allies, and is technically supporting them and not actually doing much, yet you really do feels like you're doing something. Crap, I'm rambling... I can't even describe how amazing that power is to me.

 

[Asmor]

What is even more surprising is that I haven't encountered any Lawful Evil alignment yet. This support my theory that there will be no more Lawful Evil alignment in 4E.

I thought it was "known" that the alignments were one-dimensional, and went:

Lawful Good, Good, Neutral, Evil, Chaotic Evil

Or is that still technically speculation?