Orcs preview

[frankthedm]

Yeah those handaxes will be ensuring the back row characters are using their healing surges. Not only are the orc's axes phasing through its allies, but the target's allies as well.

 

[Incenjucar]

See, to me, that sounds awesome.

And they need SOME range in there, and against other melee, yes, you want to use range as long as you can because in D&D we have things like Whirlwind attacks, and ideally your minions will be surrounding the opponents anyways, at least for a round or two.

 

[Kyrail]

True. But the game world is hardly teeming with Tarasques (well, I assume). It is, however, probably teeming with orcs. So how is anybody alive? And if the answer is "heroes" then we've moved into what is essentially a hero-based ecology.

I suppose the only reasonable presumption is that bloodragers are fairly rare. Here's hoping.

Hm. Thinking too much of them as monsters than as a society.

Basically, it's just a level 7 orc. What stops level 7 orcs? Level 7 humans hopefully.

That's like saying "Well, some towns have a level 8 adventurer in them so why are they any orcs?"

Mind you orcs have commoners as well, women, children, ect. Sure most of the population ends up becoming fighters but besides that they're just your average humanoid just like humans.

Any civilization living on the frontier with orcs will have plenty of men at arms to defend them... maybe not from a level 5, but they wouldn't all be commoners, or not for very long if that was the case.

Edit: Wow, I love the new stat blocks.

 

[baberg]

The Orc Bloodrager is listed as a 600XP monster. I'd like to see how a fight would go against the 6 DDXP premades in a one-on-six battle. 194 HP is a lot to get through, especially given his healing and bonuses on bloodied opponents. I have a feeling the PCs would feel in control for the first half of the fight, then repeatedly shout "WHY WON'T HE GO DOWN?!" as they get bloodied, enraging the Orc even more.

Ooh, also just noticed the Greataxe deals d12 damage. Finally, a use for the most under-used die in the game

 

[RodneyThompson]

Let me tell you guys, we fought one of those bloodragers last night in Chris Perkins' game, and they are some nasty dudes. In the span of just a few turns over half of our party went from un-bloodied to bloodied thanks to other bad guys in the room (some orc archer minions, a dinosaur, an ogre of some sort, and some kind of orc leader I think Chris devised himself), and it turned into "Panic Mode" as we tried to kill that bloodrager before he could heal up in his, ahem, target-rich environment.

 

[baberg]

In the span of just a few turns over half of our party went from un-bloodied to bloodied thanks to other bad guys in the room (some orc archer minions, a dinosaur, an ogre of some sort, and some kind of orc leader I think Chris devised himself)

For some reason that made me laugh.

The barkeep asks, "So, what did you guys encounter down in the Devil's Abyss?"
The adventurers reply, "An Orc Bloodletter, some minions, a dinosaur - you know, the usual."

 

[Minigiant]

"Can't hide in the trees, the raiders will get me. Can't hide in the trees, the raiders will get me. Can't hide in the trees, the raiders will get me. Fog Spell ended. Run for your LIVES!!!"

That's no orc, it's a morale vampire!
I aint playing melee anymore.

 

[mach1.9pants]

Ooh, also just noticed the Greataxe deals d12 damage. Finally, a use for the most under-used die in the game

Yep and you also get to roll the D12 for some of the orcs on a crit Different from the norm.

 

[frankthedm]

That is actually the property of the great axe.

 

[mach1.9pants]

That is actually the property of the great axe.

Oh *

*There are now only 4 smileys on my tab (after all the 4E symbols) and hitting 'more' just gives a pop up page with an error. So from now on I am using this for blush and this for roll eyes and this for evil grin........