Plz advise: shuriken-focused character

[Herobizkit]

Yesterday, for the first time, I cracked open a hardbound copy of the 4ed Player's Handbook. I perused all the chapters up to Combat. I went looking through the weapon charts and discovered, yea and verily, that shuriken now do 1d4 damage. I was elated. No more was I reduced to omitting shuriken from weapon selection due to its inferior weapon damage.

This got me thinking, though. I still don't know a lot about 4e, and as such, I have no idea how to "build" (read: min/max with style) a throwing-focused character.

I put it to you, EnWorlders. How would I design a throwing-based character; what would be the most efficient race/class combo, and would there be anything nifty in the multi-classing feats to add to the flava flava?

 

[Nifft]

Rogue turns that damage into 1d6.

I'd just build a standard throwing-based Rogue.

Cheers, -- N

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

Yup, I'd build a throwing based rogue. Get a high dex, take Deft Strike as an at-will, Distant Advantage would be a good feat to get as soon as possible. Maybe make your character very stealthy to get opportunities to throw while hidden. Maybe even get Skill Focus (Stealth) at some point, toss in a feat that increases your initiative modifier (there are several), etc.

I will note though that sadly the shuriken is still a sub-optimal choice of weapon. Even with d6 damage it is actually inferior to a thrown dagger because the dagger has +1 to-hit from rogue weapon talent. A dagger with +1 to hit vs shuriken's d6 damage still means the dagger will do more damage overall (as much as a rapier, which is d8). The other consideration being that since the dagger is also a fine melee weapon and has an excellent Paragon Path it is simply the superior overall weapon. Still, if its the flavor of character you want it isn't going to be enough less damage to cause any real problems. You'll just probably find that when you hit paragon levels it will be more and more tempting to switch to dagger.

 

[jester_gl]

Don't forget that the shuriken is considered a light blade, which works with sneak attack and most (or all) rogue power. I had misread that the first time around and thought that shuriken were useless, but they are not.

Also consider power light blinding barage, which I find really fun (throw a handful of shuriken directly in their eyes). Also, since they are thrown weapon, magical version of these automatically return to your hand when thrown. But when using these for power with more than one target, you would need one shuriken per target. If you only have one magical shuriken and a bunch of normal ones, you only get the +1 to hit and damage on a single target (chosen before throwing the dice).

Have fun making a stealthy ninja.

 

[Turtlejay]

I'm not sure if it stacks, but taking the entry multiclass into Ranger and then the Avalanche Hurler PP in Martial Power will increase thrown weapons by one die catagory, so that shuriken could potentially turn into a d8. They also have some other fun tricks.

Jay

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

Don't forget that the shuriken is considered a light blade, which works with sneak attack and most (or all) rogue power. I had misread that the first time around and thought that shuriken were useless, but they are not.

Also consider power light blinding barage, which I find really fun (throw a handful of shuriken directly in their eyes). Also, since they are thrown weapon, magical version of these automatically return to your hand when thrown. But when using these for power with more than one target, you would need one shuriken per target. If you only have one magical shuriken and a bunch of normal ones, you only get the +1 to hit and damage on a single target (chosen before throwing the dice).

Have fun making a stealthy ninja.

Actually WotC's ruling on this is that if you throw a magic thrown weapon with a multi-attack power it will return after each throw, so you can use it against ALL the targets. So Blinding Barrage and a +1 shuriken means you get the +1 to attack/damage rolls for all of them (and you still have the shuriken in hand at the end).

 

[Mentat55]

An artful dodger rogue is probably the way to go. With the bonus to AC vs. opportunity attacks, you can even sneak in close and use shuriken when threatened, and still be safe. If you are a halfling and/or invest in Defensive Mobility, all the better.

Far Throw would improve your range, and Distant Advantage will help you get combat advantage at range. Quick Draw is a must.

The Avalanche Hurler PP is definitely a possibility, but requires a multiclass ranger feat. Flying Blade Adept is a throwing focused rogue PP, while Shadow Assassin and Master Infiltrator have ranged-friendly powers.