Question about Bard Slide Abilities.

[Pezmerga]

Hello! I am new to 4th edition and I am playing in my first campaign this Saturday. I have some questions about bards and sliding powers...

When a Bard uses a power such as Impelling Force (PH2) that says Hit:1d10 + Cha damage and Slide target 5 Squares adjacent to an ally, does it have to be 5 squares? What if an ally is 4 squares away? Would he try to move 5 and stop at 4 or not slide at all?

Also what if the power just read slide the target 5 squares. could i slide him in a weird pattern...like 2 down 1 right and 2 up to end him there or could i slide UP to 5 squares and leave that nonsense out? I ask because sometimes you don't have the luxury of a lot of movement area. (like when you are on a cliff or somewhere dangerous.)

Thanks for anyone that can help answer these questions, and if you could direct me to the rules where this is all clarified, I'd be greatly appreciative!

 

[the Jester]

When you inflict forced movement or a power lets you move or shift, you always have the option of moving the target less than the maximum allowed.

IDHMBIFOM but that's pretty much the rule- "Slide the target 5 squares" means "slide the target up to 5 squares."

 

[DracoSuave]

Hello! I am new to 4th edition and I am playing in my first campaign this Saturday. I have some questions about bards and sliding powers...

Shoot!

When a Bard uses a power such as Impelling Force (PH2) that says Hit:1d10 + Cha damage and Slide target 5 Squares adjacent to an ally, does it have to be 5 squares? What if an ally is 4 squares away? Would he try to move 5 and stop at 4 or not slide at all?

You're correct. Slides don't have to use up all the squares. You could slide 1, or even 0 if you choose. If you're asked to slide to a specific square, however, you can't go partway and not go to that square. You -can- choose not to go at all.

So, if you have an ally sitting there, you can go any number of squares so long as they end adjacent to an ally... OR... not slide them at all.

Also what if the power just read slide the target 5 squares. could i slide him in a weird pattern...like 2 down 1 right and 2 up to end him there or could i slide UP to 5 squares and leave that nonsense out? I ask because sometimes you don't have the luxury of a lot of movement area. (like when you are on a cliff or somewhere dangerous.)

You can do weird patterns, but if cliffs start getting involved, the possibility that they don't end up adjacent to your ally kicks in, and so the slide might not be legal to do.

You can legally do as weird a pattern as you like, but some DMs will frown on anything too wacky. And they do have the option to nix it in this case.

Thanks for anyone that can help answer these questions, and if you could direct me to the rules where this is all clarified, I'd be greatly appreciative!

Everything you need is either on page 285-6 in the PHB1 (Pushes, Pulls, and Slides) or on page 219 (Movement Effects) of your handy PHB2.

Bards have a lot of movement effects, and it's good to see you using your braintellegence on how to maximise your effectiveness. Have fun!

 

[Pezmerga]

Thanks for the responses! I thought it would make sense to be able to move UP to the number indicated as long as in ended in a legal square, i.e. next to an ally in the Impelling Force Power.

 

[Riastlin]

One thing to remember given the mention of cliffs is that if the forced movement would cause the target to enter hindering (i.e. damaging) terrain, the target would get a Save to try and fall prone just prior to entering the hindering terrain. So with a power like Blunder, where it says slide the target X squares, you could try to slide him off that cliff and if he failed his saving throw, he would in fact fall off the cliff, BUT if he made it, he would simply fall prone in the last square adjacent to the cliff.

Same goes for fires, lava, acid pools, etc.