The Devil's in the Details: Slavicsek reveals the Pit Fiend in all its glory

[Teemu]

Universal reach for size is gone too. Note how the mace has Reach 2 but the tail doesn't. This will prevent weird things like horses biting 10' away in 3.x

Horses have a reach of 5 ft. in 3e.

 

[pukunui]

I wonder why it has to spend an Action Point to use Infernal Summons? To make it uninterruptible/instant or something? Recharge "4 5 6" looks interesting.

My thought was that it uses the Action Point to make its summons as a "freebie" on its first turn so it can do other things as well ... meaning that perhaps the Infernal Summons would normally be the 4e equivalent of a full-round action, so by spending the Action Point to use it, he can still do other stuff. Just my initial thought upon reading that.

I agree with others that some of the mechanics a little confusing, but then we don't know all the mechanics yet. I thought it was a bit weird that both auras were written as "Aura of Fear (Fear)" and "Aura of Fire (Fire)". Seems a bit redundant but I'm sure there's a reason for it. Perhaps other creatures have auras with names that aren't exactly the same as the aura type or whatever the thing in the parentheses is.

I agree that the damage seems a bit low ... but the fact that he gets to make both his mace and his tail sting attack every round goes someway towards alleviating that, in my opinion. In fact, I find it interesting that both melee attacks are listed as standard actions, and yet the frenzy, in which he can use both melee attacks, is also listed as a standard action.

 

[shilsen]

I noticed that many of the ongoing effects last until "save is made" this makes it sound like the new D&D minis rule for failed saves will be in the core rules.

Basically if you are affected by an ongoing effect (e.g. the attack roll beats your Fort, Ref, or Will Defense), you roll a d20 each round to see if you can shake it off. IRC, 11-20 and you shake off the effect and if you roll a natural 20 you shake off all ongoing effects simultaneously.

The notation that the Pit Fiend has +2 to Saves would seem to confirm this mechanic. Presumably if the Pit Fiend gets hit by an ongoing effect, it too rolls every round to see if it shakes it off. And it gets a +2 to do so. Nice.

I love this new save mechanic. It keeps players in the game even if your character gets hit by an ongoing effect. No more sitting out the whole combat because your character failed a save in the first round. And think of the excitement at the table if someone rolls a 20 and shakes off a bunch of effects at once! Awesome mechanic!

I didn't know about that mechanic, but I really like the sound of it. Thanks a lot for posting that detailed description, Dragonblade.

 

[D_E]

Looks like energy damage properties on weapons make all that damage that energy type: Melee Flametouched Mace (standard; at-will) • Fire, Weapon
Reach 2; +31 vs. AC; 1d12+11 fire damage plus ongoing 5 fire damage (save ends).

 

[Bishmon]

I just briefly skimmed it so I don't have any thoughts, but kudos to WotC for giving us this awesome preview.

 

[Doug McCrae]

I like it a lot. Especially Irresistible Command.

Oh yeah, that one is f---ing hilarious.

I *love* how cool and flavorful and yet simple the powers are. A small change but massive in terms of gameplay.

 

[Belphanior]

Horses have a reach of 5 ft. in 3e.

Ok ok, bad example. You know what I meant though.

 

[BASHMAN]

Man, Pit Fiends look an awful lot like dragonborn...

 

[Ashardalon]

I spy...

• A maneuverability rating for flying.
• A tiny bonus to saving throws.
• An action point!
• Ability descriptors and use information in the first line.
• A monster that summons, after all?
• That speaks... Supernal?
• Wears a noble signet ring.
• And can grant wishes by way of ritual every 99 years, or so it seems.

 

[rkanodia]

I didn't know about that mechanic, but I really like the sound of it. Thanks a lot for posting that detailed description, Dragonblade.

To me, it seems kind of arbitrary, since it doesn't take your saving throw into account. For instance, the flametouched mace sets you on fire and causes you to burn every round, without ever having to 'get past' your saving throw score. But I guess you did have to fail an 'AC save' in the first place in order to get hit. Yeah, ok, I guess I'm fine with it. As an alternative to fixed-length durations, it seems more interesting.

On a side note, does anyone else seem to think that 4E is going to fit very well with using index cards to keep track of things? Like, an index card saying "Flametouched. 5 fire damage per round. Save ends." or "Pit Fiend Poison. 15 poison damage per round. Weakened {here you would include a short description of Weakened}. Save ends." Just hand them to the affected PCs. Since there are no durations to mark down, they would be reusable. I dunno, maybe other people have been using index cards forever - just seems like somehow things in 4E are particularly suited to it. Maybe it's because there are lots more 'on/offs' than 'countdowns'.