Scott Rouse blog - Rogue ability

[MerricB]

http://www.gleemax.com/Comms/Pages/Communities/BlogPost.aspx?blogpostid=8968&pagemode=2&blogid=2214

Played in my 4e playtest group today.

It was a grind and I thought my rogue was going to die. We got into it with dozen Hobgoblins. They were in a big room but they got our party bottle necked into a small hallway. My rogue was able to get behind a couple hobgobs and did some damage but then got flanked and boxed in himself. I got lucky on their attacks and only lost 7hp. I was then able to use a cool attack that gives me a 3 step shift and got back behind our two tanks. We finally broke out into the room and then we had to call it because a few players had to pick up kids in the daycare.

I also saw a big thick binder with really early PHB and Monster Manual in it. This will go through many rounds of revisions as playtest data rolls in but it feels good to see progress.

Cheers!

 

[Jack99]

Sounds nice that they have given the rogue the possibility to move around in combat without always having to tumble.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Sounds nice that they have given the rogue the possibility to move around in combat without always having to tumble.

I suspect, flavor-wise, it is tumbling. But yes, any time there's a skill every player character of a certain character MUST have, it's worth looking at just incorporating that mechanism into the class itself.

 

[Plane Sailing]

a cool attack that gives me a 3 step shift

I'm wondering whether this is talking about shifting position on a condition track a la Saga, rather than being explicitly about movement.

'3 step shift' doesn't sound like something to do with movement to me... unless they've done something wacky with scale and fighting space, like making a Medium creature take up a 3ft square or something!

Which makes me think that he is talking about something other than movement with those words.

 

[Reynard]

Dear Scott:

Please stop talking in WoWisms.

Thanks.

 

[Green Knight]

I got lucky on their attacks and only lost 7hp. I was then able to use a cool attack that gives me a 3 step shift and got back behind our two tanks.

Sounds like he ended up getting 'Bloodied', and as a result, gained an ability to execute a combat maneuver which also gave him a movement of 3 squares (15 ft). Sounds cool. I may be wrong about the requirement that you have to be Bloodied, first. But at the very least, it looks like Rogues will have a combat maneuver that gives them an attack and a 15 ft. movement all tied up in a nice little bundle.

We finally broke out into the room and then we had to call it because a few players had to pick up kids in the daycare.

Filthy little blighters!

 

[eleran]

Dear Scott:

Please stop talking in WoWisms.

Thanks.

Never having played WoW, what part of that was "WoWisms"?

 

[Testament]

If you're talking about the term Tank, IME that predates WoW by quite a bit. I was hearing the term back when I started playing D&D in 2000.

 

[Scholar & Brutalman]

I'm wondering whether this is talking about shifting position on a condition track a la Saga, rather than being explicitly about movement.

There's no sign of a condition track on the Spined Devil, though I suppose it's possible that PCs get a condition track and monsters just get okay or bloodied.

It's the bit where he says he got back behind the two tanks that makes the "3 step shift" sound like a movement ability.

 

[Green Knight]

I'm wondering whether this is talking about shifting position on a condition track a la Saga, rather than being explicitly about movement.

'3 step shift' doesn't sound like something to do with movement to me... unless they've done something wacky with scale and fighting space, like making a Medium creature take up a 3ft square or something!

Which makes me think that he is talking about something other than movement with those words.

Read the rest of the sentence.

that gives me a 3 step shift and got back behind our two tanks

If he's not talking about movement, then what else could he possibly be talking about?