Wiz15 Ball Lightning

[aco175]

I have my wizard dominating one encounter per day with this spell, which turns out to be around every 4 to 5 fights. I think I know how it should work but wanted feedback please and thank you.

He is using it to make 2 attacks each round. He is saying the initial standard casting action goes off for like 20 points of damage and as a minor it goes off again. The no action to sustain allows him to let it repeat its attack, which he is calling standard and minor actions to attack twice again.

I was going with; 1st round, ok you get 2 attacks. Each other round a minor action lets you get one atk and you still have your standard to cast something else.

Upon reading it it looks like the standard action to cast just creates a ball that slows people next to it. a minor in that same round lets you atk and each follow on round another minor lets one atk.

I know I'm the dm and all, but I do not like nerfing powers and such just to make them do less things, but this just seems too powerful. This might be an arguement for not just picking powers from CB, but needing the book.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Please post the power here. We can't really comment without that information.

IMO, based on what I see here, you can't use it to get more than one attack per round. It might be poorly worded, too, maybe it should have said free action (there are a few limits to those, especially around extra attacks per round).

I hate the Character Builder, it puts a lot of stress on DMs. No longer can you demand that players present you with the book, and players essentially don't need to spend money on those books (so they can give you a massive glut of stuff, rather than just buy one book). Nor can you as easily familiarize yourself with sourcebooks, builds, or powers from said book. I hear the CB doesn't give full power descriptors either -- I don't use it, but basically all my players do.

 

[Saagael]

It looks like the player is mostly right. You can get 2 attacks on the first round. The attack is written as part of casting the spell, and the minor action isn't limited to only subsequent rounds. However, there is no "sustain" or "standard action" way to use the power on subsequent rounds, so you only get one attack every other round with your minor action.

Honestly, its not that overpowered. At level 15, its things like this that reduce grind as long as the player is taking his turn and rolling his dice quick enough and not wasting time. Look at the level 15 Sorcerer power "Lightning Daggers" if you want to see overpowered*

* I understand comparing a striker power to a controller power is iffy, so take it with a grain of salt.

 

[Locutus Zero]

Effect: You conjure a Medium ball of lightning that occupies 1 square within range, and the ball makes the following attack, which is a close burst 1. Each creature that starts its turn adjacent to the ball is slowed until the end of your next turn. Once per round, as a minor action, you can have the ball repeat its attack. As a move action, you can move the ball up to 10 squares. It can fly and hover. The ball lasts until the end of the encounter or until you dismiss it with a free action.

I don't know the rules on how much we can paste in from ddi, so I just pasted in the effect. The text seems to support two lightning attacks on the first round, and one as a minor each following round.

 

[Jarrod]

Ummm... that looks pretty clear to me. One attack per round.

Round 1: ball is summoned, and "makes the following attack, which is a close burst one". At that point, it's make its attack once per round and is done.
Round 2: as a minor, it _can_ (but doesn't have to) "repeat its attack".
Round 3: ... repeat

The "once per round" should not be read as "with one minor action per round you can" but "once per round _and_ <further condition> you can".

 

[Locutus Zero]

Are you saying that you think it says you can do the attack once per round for free? I'm not sure how you are getting that.

 

[Saagael]

Are you saying that you think it says you can do the attack once per round for free? I'm not sure how you are getting that.

He's saying that you cannot do the repeat the attack as a minor action on the round you first cast it, and only use that minor action to repeat the attack on subsequent rounds.

 

[Infiniti2000]

Ummm... that looks pretty clear to me. One attack per round.

It's clear that it's up to two (close burst 1) attacks the first round and one (close burst 1) attack subsequent rounds (not every other round as mentioned above). Whether that's RAI or not does not change the fact that there's no restriction on the repeat attack to be in a subsequent round. What's more is that the wizard could cast this and place the ball in one area and make his attack(s), then move the ball and attack again in the same round.

Allowing the repeat attack in the first round certainly isn't any more overpowered than allowing it in subsequent rounds when the wizard could couple it with other powers.

Additional aside that will make your player very happy if he hasn't figured this out yet: because it's explicitly a close burst attack, the attack itself doesn't affect the wizard (though I think the slow effect does). The rule: "Unless a power description notes otherwise, a close burst you create does not affect you. However, an area burst you create does affect you."

 

[Dannager]

It's clear that it's up to two (close burst 1) attacks the first round and one (close burst 1) attack subsequent rounds (not every other round as mentioned above). Whether that's RAI or not does not change the fact that there's no restriction on the repeat attack to be in a subsequent round. What's more is that the wizard could cast this and place the ball in one area and make his attack(s), then move the ball and attack again in the same round.

Allowing the repeat attack in the first round certainly isn't any more overpowered than allowing it in subsequent rounds when the wizard could couple it with other powers.

Additional aside that will make your player very happy if he hasn't figured this out yet: because it's explicitly a close burst attack, the attack itself doesn't affect the wizard (though I think the slow effect does). The rule: "Unless a power description notes otherwise, a close burst you create does not affect you. However, an area burst you create does affect you."

It also does not provoke an opportunity attack, because it is a close attack.

 

[aco175]

I can see that on the 1st round you can get 2 atks, your standard creates the ball and as part of that is makes an atk. If you still have a minor, your "once per round as a minor" allows you to make a 2nd atk.

On following rounds, the "repeat the atk" with a minor action only works for the attack portion, which is listed after the effect in the description. So I guess you only get one atk because you do not repeat the effect, which has an atk as part of that portion.

OK, thank you..