Please help review my firsrt character build

[jbear]

I'm sure as you actually get some play experience with your fighter that you are by far the more serious defender out of yourself and the paladin. Far more difficult to ignore. When you mark ranged attackers your defending is so potent you are like a striker. If they don't shift away from you you get an opportunity attack if they do, you nail them with your cambat challenge. So you get an extra attack against them unless they decide to scratch their nads instead... which is just as good for your group anyhow. Fighters are total beasts in 4e. Your Paladin might feel just a little jealous of you until you decide to include Divine Power, where they were brought up to par... but then again when you get hold of Martial Power as an option....

If you're doing your job right then there will be a front line, and a back line. Enemies should suffer to get through the front line. You and the paladin should keep your rogue bruise free, but work together to take down foes as quickly as possible. focus Fire whenever possible. Dead foes don't do damage. AS for avoiding getting in the way ofeach other when marking; Stalker0 has a very interesting interpretation of the paladin's mark being kept up by changing targets, thus avoiding the need to engage. If it comes down to it, ignoring your challenge is far more painful, so the paladin should be secondary.

 

[DwarvenMongoose]

As for avoiding getting in the way of each other when marking; Stalker0 has a very interesting interpretation of the paladin's mark being kept up by changing targets, thus avoiding the need to engage. If it comes down to it, ignoring your challenge is far more painful, so the paladin should be secondary.

Is there a place I can read this?

 

[Dan'L]

As this is meant to be a way to learn 4e mechanics, is your group planning to play these characters all the way up through level 30? If not, I'd recommend backing up a little from planning things out that far; maybe as much as through heroic and aiming at a paragon path. My experience has been that even by level 4, original plans often go out the window as play teaches you how your PC is working within your particular group.

I would recommend talking with your DM and group about allowing significant overhauling of characters (i.e., more than just one retrain & possibly reallocating stats) when you first level up, since then you'll have a little better idea of how the game works and how your specific PCs work with each other.

Having said that, though, a few things to consider:

- If you're worried about the lack of a leader in the party, perhaps multiclass into Warlord instead. You won't get the striker-boost or the particular methods of hobbling your opponents that Barbarian gives you, but you'll gain some ways to support the party through healing and buffs. (Although, the party will already have some smattering of this through the Paladin.) Also, Warlord has access to some feats and powers that help boost/fiddle with initiative, which you've noted is a sometimes consideration for you.

- Don't get hung up too much on one specific tactical deployment. The variety of threats and encounters in 4e means you should often find yourself in situations where you have to diverge in tactics from "plan A." Particularly if you come up against a group of skirmishers given a measure of space to move around in, you'll find it hard to draw a specific battle line that doesn't shift around the field of combat.

- It's a shame that Martial Power is out of the mix, because they reserved a good measure of shield-specific powers for that book, and they can really make this kind of concept shine.

- Fighters are, IMO, the pinnacle of the Front Line Defender, more so than Paladins, so I'll add my voice to the chorus on putting him up front. If this party needs a second line defender in a combat, I'd actually make it the Paladin.

- Tactically speaking, one of the biggest weaknesses of Fighters is a general lack of ranged attacks. You can RBA with a thrown weapon, of course, and it may not be much of an issue depending on what kind of encounters your DM cooks up for you, but it's something to watch out for.

-Dan'L

 

[DwarvenMongoose]

Thanks a lot for your advice. I don't really know if we will be able to retrain more than once a level, but I may suggest it to the group.

I'm not that worried about the lack of a leader - I just learned another player will join us, and the DM is trying hard to convice him to play a leader - problem solved!

You are right, as it as been pointed out by almost everybody, I plan way too far ahead. As I said, I'm not so rigid, I just wanted to get a general if abstract feeling of the game and was having fun just looking at options. I don't expect to follow this build as written, but just get a sense of direction.

I am really thrilled to see how a fighter is a better defender than a paladin - reading the books, I felt the other way was true! Seems I have a lot to learn.

We may allow other books to enter the game later, when we feel at ease with the system. For some players, it's their first experience not only with 4e, but with D&D in general (they played other rpgs, but none as complex as 3.5/4) so we don't want to put too much pressure on them to read all books and learn about a billion feats and powers in order to be able to balance with the other characters. So we chose to restrict ourselves.

Saturday... seems so far away ;-)

 

[Herschel]

One thing about the fighter: he marks everything he swings at. And he generally makes them pay harder, bigger, and more for ignoring his mark. And marking is automatic, you don't need to spend an action to do it. That can be HUGE at times.

Paladins get Plate and ranged marking. Nice options too, but not as "sticky" as a fighter.

 

[jbear]

Stalker0, I don't know if you are reading this thread... on the off chance you do, can you link us to your thread on the paladin's mark and mainaining it without engagement via swapping targets each round?

Sorry OP, if I was PC savvy I'm sure I could locate all Stalker0's posts and find it for you, but to say the least, computer-wise, I'm more like a valiant lame duck. I try my best, fight the good fight, but am as ever naught but a lame duck.

 

[DwarvenMongoose]

Sorry OP, if I was PC savvy I'm sure I could locate all Stalker0's posts and find it for you, but to say the least, computer-wise, I'm more like a valiant lame duck. I try my best, fight the good fight, but am as ever naught but a lame duck.

No problems... to each his talent ;-) Love your signature by the way, best sci-fi novel ever. (and arguably, best sci-fi saga, but this particular novel really shines) Plato's philosopher-king as it best.