What PHB3 Classes stand out to you?

[Obryn]

Let's see if I can help. The battlemind is a 4e version of 3e's Psychic Warrior -- powers that turn your skin into armor and that refocus damage. Its schtick is that of the self-sufficient warrior who has focused their mind inwards on personal improvement, turning loops of thought in traps for nearby foes. I really like this idea. I kind of get the Jedi reference, although it isn't perfect for me; I think of them more as sword-monks.

Hm.... Okay, I can see this. I'll have to let it process for a bit. I think I'd be better off with a clearer picture of what the Battlemind is doing when they use Mind Spike or some of their other powers. They're giving me worse perceptual problems than the Warden did.

One thing I have noticed is that they have a heck of a lot of Utility At-Wills. I think this is pretty neat.

The ardent's different from anything we've seen before, but they use their raw emotions to influence and affect the people around them. So what the heck does that mean? I keep coming back to the beginning of The Hobbit when Thorin and Company are singing their song and Bilbo is overcome with the desire to go out and do entirely un-hobbitish things. They emote, and their enthusiasm is catching; an ardent's emotions are living things circling their bodies like a tiger in a cage. They can then use these emotions to buff allies or demoralize foes. I kind of picture an ardent to be the life of the party; if he's having fun, everyone is. If he's mopey, his mood affects everyone else.

This is a good attempt, but I'm still not buying it. Thanks, though.

-O

 

[Incenjucar]

The ardent's different from anything we've seen before, but they use their raw emotions to influence and affect the people around them. So what the heck does that mean? I keep coming back to the beginning of The Hobbit when Thorin and Company are singing their song and Bilbo is overcome with the desire to go out and do entirely un-hobbitish things. They emote, and their enthusiasm is catching; an ardent's emotions are living things circling their bodies like a tiger in a cage. They can then use these emotions to buff allies or demoralize foes. I kind of picture an ardent to be the life of the party; if he's having fun, everyone is. If he's mopey, his mood affects everyone else.

So they're like a shonen protagonist?

We will defeat the all-powerful evil dragon because we have strong emotions and an invincible friendship!

 

[Piratecat]

Hm.... Okay, I can see this. I'll have to let it process for a bit. I think I'd be better off with a clearer picture of what the Battlemind is doing when they use Mind Spike or some of their other powers. They're giving me worse perceptual problems than the Warden did.

Yeah, the warden still bugs me.

With Mind Spike, I like the idea that they're creating a quick fate link, empathically tying that creature's future to their own.

This is a good attempt, but I'm still not buying it.

Heh. It's easy for me to buy; one of my players is a person who has broadcast mood, 15' r. He just radiates whatever it is he's feeling. When he's in a good mood, everyone is cheerier; when he's in a bad mood, you really don't want to go anywhere near the area and people are sensitive about it. I don't know why it happens, but he projects more than other people I know.

It isn't a far cry for me to go from this, to someone who then does that consciously with psionically amplified emotions.

 

[argonomics]

snip

 

[Flipguarder]

WOTC designers "what should ardents wear? Well, lets see clerics, warlords, bards all had heavy armor... ok then."

 

[OhGodtheRats]

For whatever reason, the Battlemind stands out pretty brightly to me when I look at the PHB3. I think it's because a player brought a Level 13 one to our RPGA game as a test, just to get a feel for the freaky thing....it's one of those classes that you can look at but until you've really seen how it works at a real table you're never quite sure.

Ultimately I think it stands out because I haven't seen a Defender with quite so many options on other people's turns. I'm sure part of this was due to the build I saw but the Level 7 At-Will that lets you Move your Speed and attack as an Immediate Interrupt when an ally is targeted by an attack...that crap was kind of amazing to see. ...not to mention the "I start every combat by moving 7 or so squares into the middle of the action" class feature. Throw in shifting as an Opportunity action and all his defender features jiving with a generic mark (The one I saw multiclassed Warden for that Once-Per-Encounter Mark the World thing)...it was pretty interesting to see and it brought a new experience to the table. Well, at least our table.

I am looking forward to Psionic Power though...I had forgotten how few Class-related Feats are included in the CoreBooks and how quickly Dragon Magazine brought them out. The Monk playtest article talked a lot more about Weapon-linked feats for instance, and it seems those ended up in Psionic Power/Dragon.

 

[argonomics]

snip

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

Eh, I like the Seeker. Now with the Seeker, the Warlord Archer build, and AP having given us archer bards it seems like there is finally a decent amount of archery potential in the game. That was kind of lacking for a good long while.

 

[bganon]

After some thought, I kind of realized that I think the Seeker is a perfectly good class. It just had the misfortune of being a class without any fundamentally new mechanics, printed in a book right after five classes with all sorts of new and interesting mechanics. I mean, you've got three classes with an entirely different power mechanic, full discipline/melee implement-using weirdness, funky "rune states", and... Inevitable Shot? [record scratch]

 

[Garthanos]

Even my avenger now has a bow at will,

Eh, I like the Seeker. Now with the Seeker, the Warlord Archer build, and AP having given us archer bards it seems like there is finally a decent amount of archery potential in the game. That was kind of lacking for a good long while.