Tutorial: Terrain Powers is awesome

[Aegeri]

Finally something truly awesome from Wizards in every department. I really enjoyed reading this article and while it is merely explaining basics of these things, the logic and general "thought process" explained behind making them did actually help me considerably. I especially liked that many of the hazards actually reduced in action required to use them per tier. For example pulling over a table was a move action in heroic, but only a minor action in paragon/epic. That's not really something I had thought about before when implementing terrain powers, but now that I've seen that concept in action it is pretty solid!

My only complaint is that I would love to have it in a PDF, for easy printing and such forth.

 

[BobTheNob]

I thought it was a good article. But there is something about terrain powers that...well...makes me a little uneasy.

One of the best moment our group ever had in any rpg was in Shadowrun. The party ended up in a "Old West" style bar brawl. Suffice to say, by the end of it
* One player was puching on with a kick girl on stage
* One player was swinging from a chandelier
* One had been thrown out of a window
* One had knocked the piano player unconscious and had proceeded to take over the playing of the piano whilst the chaos ensued.

By the end of the fight, everyone was laughing and all had a great time.

It was a great moment in our game because it wasnt about the numbers and abilities, it was about the theatrics and the moment. As a DM, to make it a reality I had to resort to very "interpretive" style. The players said "I want to do this", and I went out of my way to find a way to let the game mechanism allow it.

The thing about encounter powers that gives me the shivers is that the powers are pre-built into the encounter. With my guy that swung from the chandalier, what if the power didnt pre-exist? Come up with it on the fly? Operate without terrain power and just interpret a skill check? But if Im willing to interpret a skill check...why do I need terrain powers in the first place.

4e has a firm habit of wanting to quantify and qualify every action a player can take, but if you do it too much, the game can lose something magical that nothing but pen and paper rpgs offer.

I repeat, I did like the article, but I take it with a grain of salt.

 

[Aegeri]

I don't see terrain powers as replacing page 42 (Or 52 or whatever the hell it is now), but instead just structuring it before the game begins so it looks like you did (but actually didn't). There are some common situations that having such rules as this are rather useful for. EG the infamous rug from under the villains or a barstool/table. I also find this useful because it provides (well at least to me) quick logic for rapidly making such a power up from thin air. An expansion of the page 42 stuff, but just in a more structured way and with a nicer looking stat block.

 

[Mengu]

I loved the article, and think it would have made good DMG3 material.

 

[LostSoul]

This part should have been on page 42.

Epic Standard: Dominate, stun, or petrify
Paragon Standard or Epic Move: Blind, daze, immobilize, restrain, or weaken
Heroic Standard, Paragon Move, or Epic Minor: Grant combat advantage, allow a mark, or penalize a defense by up to –2
Heroic Move, or Paragon and Epic Minor: Avoid intervening obstacles during a move; grant concealment and/or cover; knock prone; push, pull, or slide enemy up to 4 squares; deafen; or deal level-appropriate ongoing damage
Heroic, Paragon, and Epic Minor: Add a damage type to an attack or allow a 1-square shift​

 

[Aegeri]

Oddly enough, I've actually been using the "add a damage type" part for a while now. Either to allow PCs to make use of vulnerabilities they don't have or, in an interesting twist, make variable resistance on most demons worth while using. I never considered it make it cost an action for a PC to use however.

 

[Someone]

I admit I only skimmed over the article, but it looks like a really time-consuming way of limiting your player's options.

 

[Nemesis Destiny]

This was an excellent piece, if for nothing else than the breakdown quoted by [MENTION=386]LostSoul[/MENTION]

That is precisely the kind of thing you need to know when adjudicating things on the fly, or when making houserules.

 

[Aegeri]

I admit I only skimmed over the article, but it looks like a really time-consuming way of limiting your player's options.

That really isn't the point of it at all. Sometimes there are some simple and common terrain features - or just one you make in general - that can be added to an encounter with simple rules. The idea isn't to provide for every circumstance if it happens, but to give a clear indication as to how the rules work for constructing your own if you actually want them.

 

[Riastlin]

That really isn't the point of it at all. Sometimes there are some simple and common terrain features - or just one you make in general - that can be added to an encounter with simple rules. The idea isn't to provide for every circumstance if it happens, but to give a clear indication as to how the rules work for constructing your own if you actually want them.

Gotta agree with Aegeri on this one. To me, the article was pretty explicit in its intention to add options for the PCs not detract. It not only includes the mantra of "find a way to say yes" but also stresses that most terrain powers should require less than a standard action because generally a PC would be better off using one of her powers for that standard than a terrain power.

Personally, I thought it was a great article, and its not behind the pay wall. Double bonus.