Swordmages and half-orcs hit the streets!

[ascendance]

I think we now know why the Githyanki have +2 Con and +2 Int - those are clearly the prime requisites for the Swordmage class, and Githyanki are going to by far make the best Swordmages.

 

[Atlatl Jones]

Higher levels, figure 14 (plate) +6 (enhancement) + 2 shield for 22 AC and 2 Reflex for the paladin. 5 (hide) + 6 (enhancement) + 8 (Int) + 8 (shield) for 27 AC.

That's pretty marginal at first level, decent at high level (I'm assuming a Demigod for the stat boost for the swordmage), but still only 3 better in total defense for the swordmage, even with the Demigod boost.

A character who started with an 18 Int can have a +8 Int bonus at 28th level even without the demigod bonus. A character who starts with an Int of 20 and has the demigod destiny can have an Int bonus of +10 by 28th level. That would give your example a 31 AC bonus, which is just plain broken.

I'm amazed that they would double the Int bonus instead of just giving a set bonus. Doubling a stat bonus cannot help but mess with the underlying math, dramatically altering the expected progression of AC values. I wouldn't be at all surprised if, in the final version, it's something like a straight +4 bonus.

 

[Khaim]

I'm amazed that they would double the Int bonus instead of just giving a set bonus. Doubling a stat bonus cannot help but mess with the underlying math, dramatically altering the expected progression of AC values. I wouldn't be at all surprised if, in the final version, it's something like a straight +4 bonus.

That's still really good, unless it totally replaces armor. See, Dex/Int heavy characters in Hide are roughly equal to guys in Plate. If you max out Dex or Int as much as is possible, the light armor actually exceeds Plate anyways. Giving them a +4 bonus on top of that is just sick. By the way, the classes with Dex or Int as their attack stats are naturally good because of this- the same stat controls both their attack and defense, so they get lots of utility out of it.

 

[Rechan]

Considering how messed up the pregens have been out of WotC, I woudln't be surprised if it's riddled with errors.

 

[Otterscrubber]

I just received the RPGA adventure "Return to the Moathouse" (by Mike Mearls), which I ´m going to DM at a local event... and there IS playable SWORDMAGE character, AND a half-orc NPC...
< Ok, the half-orc NPC is useless, as a fountain of information, as it is also a "half-elemental" creature, and don´t have no identifiable "orkish" features - but still, it means that they don´t totally give up in the half-orc race "because it implies a very bad backstory" >

Anyway, here are the SWORDMAGE powers (it´s a 5th level character):

At-Will Powers:



Sword Burst
Swordmage Attack 1
A sweep of your sword blasts those around you with force.
At-Will ✦ Arcane, Force, Implement
Standard Action Close burst 1
Target: Each enemy in burst
Attack: +6 vs. Reflex
Hit: 1d6 + 4 force damage.

Interesting, they get an at-will power equal to a ranger encounter (Dire Wolverine) power, and it is against Reflex and not AC. That hardly seems fair. I hope this is not the first of many broken splat powers to come.....or that I am reading this wrong.

 

[Zsig]

Interesting, they get an at-will power equal to a ranger encounter (Dire Wolverine) power, and it is against Reflex and not AC. That hardly seems fair. I hope this is not the first of many broken splat powers to come.....or that I am reading this wrong.

It has the Implement keyword, and not Weapon keyword.

Which means, you don't get to add prof. bonus to attack, that justifies the "vs Reflex".

If it's broken? I have no idea.

All I know is that when I first heard about Swordmages I didn't give a damn... now all of a sudden, I want to play one.

 

[small pumpkin man]

Aegis of Shielding
Swordmage Feature
You create an arcane link between you and a foe, allowing you to instantly
respond to its attacks with a counterassault.
At-Will ✦ Arcane, Teleportation

This is, well, wierd. Do you teleport over there, half block the strike and teleport back? Do you teleport your weapon? I guess my question is, why does it have the teleportation keyword? Why doesn't it just themed tie the target up with webbing or thunder which hinders it's strikes/magic?

If it actually teleported you next to the the target, that would be cool, but it doesn't seem to, so I don't understand why it has the teleportation keyword. Not a big deal, just strange.

Interesting, they get an at-will power equal to a ranger encounter (Dire Wolverine) power, and it is against Reflex and not AC. That hardly seems fair. I hope this is not the first of many broken splat powers to come.....or that I am reading this wrong.

It's not "equal", as it does two or three points less damage, and the targeting reflex is offset by the implement keyword. It does seem to be pushing the power level of non-controller at-wills, allthough I would call it "power creep" more than outright broken.

 

[bjorn2bwild]

Interesting, they get an at-will power equal to a ranger encounter (Dire Wolverine) power, and it is against Reflex and not AC. That hardly seems fair. I hope this is not the first of many broken splat powers to come.....or that I am reading this wrong.

Well it's an implement power, not a weapon power, so in order to use it effectively at later levels, the swordmage is going to have expend a bunch of actions that round or lose that extra AC bonus everyone keeps talking about (requires a free hand). --this is assuming that swordmages can't use thier swords as implements.

As far as we know, It's less damage than Dire Wolverine could be (1d4 vs 1[w]).

And, um, if you don't like this one what are your thoughts on Thunderwave-- the wizard at-will that does more damage to a potentially larger amount of targets AND pushes bad guys away?

edit--ninja'd!

 

[Zsig]

This is, well, wierd. Do you teleport over there, half block the strike and teleport back? Do you teleport your weapon? I guess my question is, why does it have the teleportation keyword? Why doesn't it just themed tie the target up with webbing or thunder which hinders it's strikes/magic?

If it actually teleported you next to the the target, that would be cool, but it doesn't seem to, so I don't understand why it has the teleportation keyword. Not a big deal, just strange.

Who said you don't Teleport? For all it's worth it could be you teleport next to ally to intercept foe's attack and then quickly teleports back to origin so fast that no one would even notice!

Now, to be completely honest, I don't get the Teleport keyword either...

 

[Otterscrubber]

And, um, if you don't like this one what are your thoughts on Thunderwave-- the wizard at-will that does more damage to a potentially larger amount of targets AND pushes bad guys away?

edit--ninja'd!

Well, thunderweave has its drawbacks in that once your melee fighters engage opponents you may not want them to be pushed as it will mess up flanking and whatnot. We've only used it once in an adventure after our wizard leveled up and decided to take it, and when he used it he messed up a lot of positioning and made the fight a lot tougher for us actually. Monsters I've noticed seem to have all sorts of cool shifting abilities. But like I said that was just one instance, can't claim to have used it enough to be sure of its usefulness.