Primal Power Discussion

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

So, I got the Primal Power yesterday (along with the latest Dungeon Tiles and E3: Prince of Undeath, NFS Shift, a Joystick, a Steering Wheel, Battlestar Galactica Season 04 DVDs and Soundtrack. It felt like Christmas.)

I haven't had much time to read it yet, but here are some observations:

- There seem to be a lot of new Rage powers that feel less "magical" as some of the PHB 2. (Essentially, a lot without any energy keywords, psychic or fear). So anyone that prefer a more "martial" flavor to their Barbarian, there it is.
- Barbarian AC issues "fixed" with some feats in that area. You don't exactly need less feats as when relying on heavy armor, but you can at least stay in Hide armor.
- I noticed a long section on Primal Spirits that seemed very interesting and flavorful. The "Old Grandfather" spirit reminded me of diaglo. They feel a like the Primal equivalent of gods or archfey.
The Primal Spirit names are referred to in several powers. I wonder if there are plans to also create Spirit related feats, kinda like Channel Divinity for Primal heroes (but without a Channel-Divinity like ability, they'd have to work differently.)

The latter part is interesting, because the Fey and the Primal world seem to be thematically very close, and I sometimes wonder if they shouldn't be the same.

I am not sure if my thread is redundant with this one. http://www.enworld.org/forum/genera...er-preview-review.html?highlight=Primal+Power. If so, feel free to merge.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Ah, I see, nobody cares about Primal Power.

 

[CapnZapp]

No, they already discuss it in another thread.

 

[fba827]

i only recently got it and haven't yet had a chance to even open it up yet (i know, my priorities are in the wrong place ).

 

[dontmazemebro]

What are the names of the epic destinies and shaman paragon paths? I want to know if anything thematically matches up with the shaman I'm making.

 

[ppaladin123]

There is a ton of interesting fluff in primal power. I actually found myself reading it through page by page instead of simply skimming for useful crunch. I always thought that 4e went too far when removing fluff in favor of mechanical crunch. I am glad to see the pendulum swinging back a bit.

 

[ferratus]

I'm waiting for the character builder update, because I am poor.

 

[Klaus]

So, I got the Primal Power yesterday (along with the latest Dungeon Tiles and E3: Prince of Undeath, NFS Shift, a Joystick, a Steering Wheel, Battlestar Galactica Season 04 DVDs and Soundtrack. It felt like Christmas.)

I haven't had much time to read it yet, but here are some observations:

- There seem to be a lot of new Rage powers that feel less "magical" as some of the PHB 2. (Essentially, a lot without any energy keywords, psychic or fear). So anyone that prefer a more "martial" flavor to their Barbarian, there it is.
- Barbarian AC issues "fixed" with some feats in that area. You don't exactly need less feats as when relying on heavy armor, but you can at least stay in Hide armor.
- I noticed a long section on Primal Spirits that seemed very interesting and flavorful. The "Old Grandfather" spirit reminded me of diaglo. They feel a like the Primal equivalent of gods or archfey.
The Primal Spirit names are referred to in several powers. I wonder if there are plans to also create Spirit related feats, kinda like Channel Divinity for Primal heroes (but without a Channel-Divinity like ability, they'd have to work differently.)

The latter part is interesting, because the Fey and the Primal world seem to be thematically very close, and I sometimes wonder if they shouldn't be the same.

I am not sure if my thread is redundant with this one. http://www.enworld.org/forum/genera...er-preview-review.html?highlight=Primal+Power. If so, feel free to merge.

Diaglo is now in 4e.

Surely the world is coming to an end.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

What are the names of the epic destinies and shaman paragon paths? I want to know if anything thematically matches up with the shaman I'm making.

Here are some lists, starting with the ones you requested. I hope that helps.

Epic Destinies
- Fang of the World Serpent
- Fury of the Wild
- Honored Ancestor
- Mythic Spirit
- Perfect Guardian
- Reincarnate Champion
- Sovereign Beast
- World Tree Guardian

Shaman Paragon Paths:
- Disciple of Winds
- Everflame Guardian
- Great Elder
- Keen Eagle
- Scarred Healer
- Season's Herald
- Warrior of Spring

Barbarian Paragon Paths:
- Ancestral Weapon
- Building Thunder
- Calm Fury
- Death's Thane
- Stonefire Rager
- Twinclaw Slayer
- Winter Fury

Druid Paragon Paths
- Coiled Serpent
- Luminescent Swarm
- Pack Lord
- Primal Summoner
- Spiral Wind's Ally
- Storm Speaker
- Whirling Samara

Warden Parago Paths
- Child of the North Wind
- Earth Shaker
- Emerald Guardian
- First Hunter
- Icewrought Sentinel
- Radiant Serpent
- Tribal Champion

Also, here a list of the Elder Spirit (each has one or two paragraphs of description and story.)
Always Falling, Blood Cousin, Carver, The Deep Winds, Earth Wheel, Everflame, Fate Weaver, The Grandmothers, Great Bear, Great Current, Great Watcher, The Hunter Twins, Hunter of Winter, The Monster Slayers, Old Grandfather, The Primal Beast, The Soul Serpent, Stoneroot, Stormhawk, Tree Father, Whisper, The World Healer, the World Serpent, The World Tree

You'll find this names again in several powers or paragon paths.

There are also new backgrounds available, some based on Geography. This neatly expends a little on the "Points of Light" geography...
Blazstone, Bleakmire, Bloodtangle, Broken Lands, Frostfell, Howling Plains, Maelstrom, Sea of Dust, Thunderpeaks, Underwild, Wrathwood

Now I actually have to find the time to read all this stuff in detail!

 

[thecasualoblivion]

Here are some quick impressions:

Barbarians

Whirling Barbarians are an interesting multihitting striker, not unlike the Sorcerer
Thunderborn Barbarians seem lame
Thaneborn Barbarians got hooked up, and have a deep list of interesting stuff to play with, even some party healing!
Rageblood Barbarians already had everything they needed, and gained little beyond a bit more depth
Barbarians still don't have a truly excellent Paragon Path
Barbarians get a pair of feats that turn your primary weapon into an effective Heavy Thrown weapon, whatever it is
Con based Barbarians get Hide Armor feats that turn their AC from bad to incredible

Druids

Swarm Druids are the beefy unkillable Con based Tank that Guardian Druids were not
Druid Summons got a bit of a power-up since the preview
Predator and Guardian Druids got some fun new things to play with, but nothing that fundamentally changes them
Those are two AMAZING At-Wills they got
Snake Druid Paragon Path turns you into a full-on Striker. Didn't read them closely, but I'm assuming there are some less crappy caster based Druid Paragons
Predator Druids can shift their Dexterity modifier as a free action while shifting into beast form at the cost of two feats

Shamans

Shamans got hooked up!
Eagle Shaman plays really nice with Prime Shot, and resembles the Tactical Warlord in buffing and action granting
World Speaker Shaman is focused on movement denial and manipulation
Bear Shaman got powers that allow their Companion to mark enemies
Panther Shaman is probably the hardest hitting Leader in the game
They get an At-Will power that is a melee implement attack(not spirit) that is worth using
Shamans got more of everything in terms of powers. More healing, more striker style damage, more buffing, more area control, more Defender impersonation...
Paragon Paths are ok, they get an uber-healing one but nothing earth shattering
Oh my god did they get a pile of must have feats. You'll be midway through Paragon when you finally get all the awesome Heroic Tier feats
Shaman multiclass feat gives you Encounter Spirit Healing with the first multiclass feat as the prerequisite
Shamans should really start play with Hide Armor. It is lame that they do not. Houserule Alert!

Warden

Lifeblood Warden seems kind of flat, as its healing doesn't compare to Paladin heals, not even close
Storm Warden is movement manipulation, and is ok at it
Wild and Earthstrength Wardens got new stuff
Wardens get some interesting new things, like being able to mark and inflict a penalty of -4 or higher for attacking allies and zone based movement denial
No earth shattering Paragons
Feats now support a damage focused Warden who uses a Hammer and takes powers that slow and immobilize. Didn't really have a high damage Warden prior to this.