memory of a thousand lifetimes

[Jhaelen]

I think it's meant to work exactly like the action points in 3E, i.e. the player decides after making the roll but before determining success.

 

[ryryguy]

Personally, I've never been fond of making players guess whether using their limited-use ability is going to be a complete waste of time; whenever I've had characters with some sort of "after you make Y check, add +X bonus" ability, in any system, I tell the player whether they failed by a small enough margin that the power could help. Never had a balance problem with it.

Huh, given that Memory of a Thousand Lifetimes is not a "+X bonus" but a "+1dX" bonus, would you tell them only that "you failed by less than or equal X"? Or exactly how much so they could properly judge the odds?

Will the player know if using a given power will prevent a hit? Should the player know that? It could make powers such as Dragonflame Mantle, which provide a minimal bonus, nigh-useless in that regard if the player doesn't know (but then again, maybe the damage is the main deal of that power), but on the other hand, a power like Ward of Brilliance, which has an effect in case the attack hits despite the bonus to defenses, seem silly as the bonus will likely be used to ward off the attack entirely.

That is an interesting point. I suppose a player could choose to use Ward of Brilliance even if he knows the effect won't be enough to negate the hit, if he wants to get that "still hits" effect. And could there be scenarios where the attacker responds with some interrupt power of his own to counter the defensive interrupt?

Thinking about it more, I'm tempted to just let the player know what the target number is. If nothing else, they can often figure it out during play based on previous rolls.

 

[N0Man]

Ditto.

I ditto the ditto... I think it's intended to be used after the result of the roll is known. This is hardly the only power that allows you to change your roll after the fact.

You may it is "powerful". It's useful, and it's fun, but I wouldn't say it's too powerful. Most races have some pretty good bonuses that may be "powerful", but are not "too powerful" when you compare them all.

I think it's a gem of a bonus, not for power itself, but because it's simply a fun power that allows players to have an occasional and direct impact in the narrative control. There are other powers that allow players to stop the action and interject a change in the story, and honestly, this is a good thing.

I support the more player-friendly use for this very reason. Players having more direct influence in the narrative appears to be a theme in 4E, and I'm a fan of this.

 

[LostSoul]

I think they left it ambiguous intentionally.

 

[Kordeth]

Huh, given that Memory of a Thousand Lifetimes is not a "+X bonus" but a "+1dX" bonus, would you tell them only that "you failed by less than or equal X"? Or exactly how much so they could properly judge the odds?

I don't make my players make blind rolls. They know the DC they're shooting for before the roll, they know what the result is, and they can gauge for themselves what the odds are of getting that push over the top with their +1d6.

 

[BobTheNob]

Personally, I've never been fond of making players guess whether using their limited-use ability is going to be a complete waste of time; whenever I've had characters with some sort of "after you make Y check, add +X bonus" ability, in any system, I tell the player whether they failed by a small enough margin that the power could help. Never had a balance problem with it.

Seconded. I used to hold that with such powers the player had to apply a degree of guesswork to its application (i.e. you have to elect to use it before knowing the result of the roll). Then the players and I chatted and they changed my mind...

Rule zero : Have Fun! We all know it. The thing is, with powers, they are (even encounter) infrequenct things. As such, they are better used when they are as empowering as possible. That makes them FUN!. At the end of the day, thats what its all about, fun. So now, when our party deva wishes to use this power, I will actually just tell him what he missed by, so he knows exactly how likely it is that this works...

Same with any powers like this. For instance, our party mage who has defensive staff and shield, he can ask me "If I use my defensive staff, will that attack miss?" and I will answer him truthfully.

It all helps the players get the most out of their characters, and therefore the most fun out of the game.

 

[wlmartin]

The deva power says you can choose to add the +1d6 when after you make a roll and "dislike the result".

Does that mean you get to hear whether the check succeeded or failed, or just that you don't like the number showing on the die, before the DM tells you the outcome?

It seems ambiguous, unless there's some general rule I've forgotten about.

I don't think it is ambiguous at all. I do find it strange that people who want to gain benefit from a certain condition will try to find loopholes in all of the powers and abilities they can to do so.

The triggering action is your roll, not the attack itself.

It is quite obvious that it is to mean you add the D6 to the roll if you dislike the result of the roll.

I can just see it now, the DM starts telling DEVA's that their roll failed and they are like "Ah, well in that case I will use MoTL", add another 3, does that still fail?

Sounds wrong doesn't it?

Chris Perkins : Does a 45 hit you?
Bob Salvatore : Yes, that hits him exactly 3 times
Chris Perkins : Well then you take (adds up 3 lots of damage)
Chris Perkins : I trust Bob, I believe him

 

[Doombybbr]

Also consider that this is an encounter power, useful outside of combat. IOW, you might use it on many, many, many skill checks outside of combat.

house rule - outside of combat is considered an "encounter" so that encounter powers can only be used once between battles(but ONLY for that reason)

 

[Ferghis]

Personally, I've never been fond of making players guess whether using their limited-use ability is going to be a complete waste of time; whenever I've had characters with some sort of "after you make Y check, add +X bonus" ability, in any system, I tell the player whether they failed by a small enough margin that the power could help. Never had a balance problem with it.

This is my attitude as well, but this position erodes the value of powers that expressly let you decide with all the info in hand. Admittedly, the Belt of Fiends has the only power of this kind that I know of...

Belt of Fiends -Level 15 Uncommon
Power (Daily): Immediate Interrupt. You can use this power when you are hit by an attack. Gain a +3 power bonus to defense against that attack; you can decide to use the power after the DM tells you the attack die total.

 

[Mengu]

This is one of those things that sees a lot of table variation.

For the Deva in my game, not only will I tell him the result (fail/pass, or miss/hit), I will even remind him, hey, that's a miss, but it's close, and let him decide if he wants to use his power or not.

I always interpret such powers in a way that won't hose the player. 23 vs AC might hit this mob, or it might not, I'm not telling you, you want to use your power? Yes, awesome, cross off the power. Ha! You didn't need to use it, boned! Erm, not my style.