Races & Classes details from the WotC boards

[Aage]

Rogues

Sneak attack is easier. Apart from flanking, some spell and special abilities will also give combat advantage to rogues. Combat advantage is the name for the state when a rogue can sneak attack a foe.

So, combat advantage seems to be a new word for flat-footed and similar conditions, like flank.

Immunity to sneak attack is nearly gone. Immunities are almost gone from 4th ed, replaced by damage threshold (something like DR).

A damage threshold? Interesting

Listen & Spot; Move silently & Hide; Open lock and Sleight of Hand is combined. Knowledge (Arcana), Spellcraft and Read Magic is combined to Arcane. Approximately the skill list is cut in half.

Good.

Trapfinding is a feat (rogues have it by default), but others can have it too.

I'd like to see trapfinding incorporated in search/disable device, rather than as a feat. And Rogues MUST have it? Me no like.

They make pacts with devils, feys, the starts, elemental powers. Their initial pact determines a large part of their powers. There are four types of it: Infernal, Fey, Vestige and Star.

This seems to be old, now changed, stuff.

Primary attack is eldritch blast and soul ruin.

Same sentiment as rogue must have trapfinding. No powers should be pre-chosen IMO.

Invocation can summon.

Summons are present

Curses are an integral part of your power. Curses are associated with your pact. They are per encounter damage dealing / crippling powers. Cursed creatures are easier to damage with your blast or soul ruin. When a cursed creature is dropped to 0 hp, you gain a powerful follow up attack against nearby foes.

Sounds cool

As for alignment, most creatures and PC will be unaligned.

This was suspected, right? Good thing IMO

 

[Wormwood]

Rogues look much more useful in combat

Skills FINALLY getting a much needed simplification (18 is still a little high, though. They could probably have knocked 'em down to 10 or so like I did a few years back).

Alignment is MOSTLY gone? Good enough for me.

Once again 4e presents a sweet combination of the way I already play the game mixed with how I would like to play the game.

 

[Aristotle]

I don't know that I get "stars" but I'll wait for an explanation...

Interesting that they can align with Fey, and elemental is mentioned in there... making them possibly fit both the fey inspired caster and elementalist people were looking for. The only non-astral sea realm they can't align with seems to be the shadowfell. The completist in me iswn't happy about that, but I guess they wanted to leave that connection open for a possible necromancer class later down the road.

 

[Geron Raveneye]

Another update from the Wizard boards, this one with Rogues and Warlocks...(and lots of general mechanical tidbits mixed in)

I like what I read in there about the Warlocks...sounds like a damn flavourful class, and loaded with plenty of different options depending on whom they started making deals with. I wonder how much it will take to translate it back to something 3E-ish.

 

[fuindordm]

Another update from the Wizard boards, this one with Rogues and Warlocks...(and lots of general mechanical tidbits mixed in)

Wait... so we have three flavors of arcane caster???

Wizard = academic scholar
Sorcerer = instinctive magic (wild mage?)
Warlock = pact magic

I actually quite like the sound of that, and the Star Warlock has me especially curious.

Ben

 

[Simia Saturnalia]

As a DM and homebrewer who doesn't consider a world completed without a zodiac, I'd like to say the Star Warlock makes my geekness swell.

 

[Cadfan]

Are we certain that the Star Warlock is up to date? When was the information in this book finalized, compared to when WOTC last released information about the Warlock?

I don't know enough about WOTC's policies to know whether they'd tease us by mentioning only some of the types of warlocks, then actually writing more.

 

[Aeolius]

I'd like to say the Star Warlock makes my geekness swell.

Granted, you have to run around collecting stars to place in the Star Pocket of your sentient talking Backpack of Holding.

 

[Maggan]

I actually quite like the sound of that, and the Star Warlock has me especially curious.

I can't wait for the companion classes:

Empire Strikes Backlock and Return of the Jedilock!

/M

 

[fuindordm]

Granted, you have to run around collecting stars to place in the Star Pocket of your sentient talking Backpack of Holding.

Oh, you're evil.

"When I was a girl I made a pact with the stars. Now you must fulfill my debt!"