D&D 4E Rob Heinsoo on 4E PHB

[luciddarkchild]

Still not quiet over my WTF moment when Rob and Mike asserted that the most important reason to buy the PHb was because you couldn't trust your DM, and DnD players don't share....

 

[Khaim]

If every level has at least a choice of 4 powers, and every class has a different list.... that's a minimum of 4 powers x 30 levels x 8 classes. Or 960 powers. If so... that's pretty amazing.

It would be. However, the Wizard spell list makes me think that while they pretended to get rid of "spell levels", they are still in the game. You may choose a new spell each level, but you're picking from the same list as last level. Until you hit level X, when you unlock a new spell level.

I'd also think that such "spell levels" (okay, ability levels would be more generic) are denser in the Heroic tier and spread out a bit later on. So you get a lot of choices up front, many of which you can take later and still be useful. Notice that Sleep scales perfectly, and some of the Rogue powers had explicit scaling.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

Also because its likely wizard spells don't become useless as you level. If we look at the sleep spell, that's a spell that you can throw at 1st level or 20th.

It always annoyed me that sleep became so useless so soon in the game, once everything you faced ended up getting HD above what can be affected.

 

[Falling Icicle]

From what I've seen of the previews, martial characters seem to get fewer powers in all three categories, so it would make some sense that they would all be 'reliable', for all martial characters. I like it.

The Ranger is a martial character and none of the preview Ranger's powers has the Reliable keyword. The only one that does is the Fighter Daily.

Also, I don't think it's true that martial characters get fewer powers. The Warlock has only 1 more at will power than the Ranger, but that could be due to the Half-Elf race. All of the other extra powers some of the characters have seem to be attributable to racial powers, feats or class features.

 

[breschau]

If every level has at least a choice of 4 powers, and every class has a different list.... that's a minimum of 4 powers x 30 levels x 8 classes. Or 960 powers. If so... that's pretty amazing.

No. What he said was you get different powers at every level. One level you gain a daily, the next an encounter, the next an at-will; or something like that.

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

If every level has at least a choice of 4 powers, and every class has a different list.... that's a minimum of 4 powers x 30 levels x 8 classes. Or 960 powers. If so... that's pretty amazing.

I don't think it's actually every level. There are no 11th or 12th level wizard powers on the wizard pages at D&DXP.

 

[Campbell]

I don't think it's actually every level. There are no 11th or 12th level wizard powers on the wizard pages at D&DXP.

My bet is that the dead levels are the levels where you pick an ability from your paragon path.

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

My bet is that the dead levels are the levels where you pick an ability from your paragon path.

Does this mean that paragon paths are mandatory?

 

[Daniel D. Fox]

I don't think it's actually every level. There are no 11th or 12th level wizard powers on the wizard pages at D&DXP.

Granted, but Rob also said you gain Powers every level. Not to mention there is reason enough to believe that even-level powers are utility, and didn't want to reveal the meat and potatoes type of utility spells (such as Minor Globe).

Those are my thoughts at least.

 

[hong]

Does this mean that paragon paths are mandatory?

They seem to be assumed, yes. At the very least, they pretty much take it for granted in R&C that PCs will have them.