Writer@Large

Behold! The Warlord?

 games  1 Response »
Mar 212013
 

The new Fighter build has clearly tried to back-end the Warlord in a way that Mike Mearls suggested it would in a recent D&D Podcast. So I thought I’d take him up on the challenge! Here then is the hidden new class in the 3/20 test packet: a warlord!

Yantok Steelforged, Dwarf Fighter [Warlord], Level 5

STR 17; DEX 10; CON 16; INT 08; WIS 13; CHA 12

HP 52; Initiative: +0; AC 18 [Chain Mail, Shield]; Speed 20 ft.

Attack: Battleaxe +5 [1d8+3]; Handaxe +5 melee or +2 ranged [1d6+3]

Class Abilities: Deadly Strike, Multiattack [Whirlwind Attack]

Feats [Mystic Healer]: Healing Initiate, Hold the Line, Interposing Shield, Magical Rejuvination

Expertise: 3d6
      — Death Dealer: Slam
      — Superior Defense: Warning Shout
      — Unerring Attacker: Attack Orders

Skills [Combat Medic]: Administer First Aid, Climb, Intimidate, Recall Lore [Military]

Trait [Combat Medic]: Military Rank

Racial Abilities [Hill Dwarf]: Darkvision; Dwarven Resilience; Dwarven Weapons Training; Dwarven Toughness; Stonecutting

Building him was pretty simple. For Fighter options, I tried to favor the Warlord-esque ability, the one that helped others instead of the Warlord himself [with one caveat, see below]. In terms of Specialty I took Mystic Healer, to give him some of that magical healing mojo — not a lit, but a bit. Then, for his bonus Fighter feats, I basically started following a second Specialty, the Defender. Finally, I played DM a bit with his Background and gave him “Combat Medic” — basically, Soldier with Ride swapped out for First Aid.

Honestly, I think he might be a fun character to play. He’d be entrenched in the front lines, swinging his battleaxe every round, using his shield both offensively and defensively, and bellowing out commands to his fellow party members. He’s tough, well-armored, and no slouch as a combatant. And if he needs to, he can always reach down to stabilize a fallen comrade.

The one issue I see even at 5th level, though, is that many of his abilities rely on using a reaction — Warning Shout, Attack Orders, Hold the Line, and Interposing Shield are all vying for that reaction each round. He’s got a useful Warlord-esque toolkit, but he can only ever use one tool at a time. That’s why I ultimately chose Slam for him at first level; it gives him a way to spend an expertise die on his own turn while still getting a helpful effect into play [disadvntage on the next enemy attack].

Now, I will admit that my 4E Warlord experience is a bit thin, so let me know: what do you think of this build? Does this satisfy the Warlord craving? Or is this a pale imitation of the class? Could I have built Yanok differently to make a better Warlord out of him? Let me know in the comments!

Wake Up, Little Bloggie!

 games  2 Responses »
Mar 132013
 

Wow! Has it been three months? Sorry; life happens. And as it happens, I haven’t played or really thought about D&D since December. I got the newest playtest packet, but really haven’t gone over it (or even created a Barbarian). Life calls, sometimes.

But it’s time for this blog to wake up, because life is now calling me back to D&D Next. Specifically, I very well may be running the next session of D&D Encounters at my FLGS. Or, I might be playing; but probably running. I’m excited by this! It’s the first real “official” D&D Next content to come out, and it’s part of the Encounters program that’s pretty well attended locally. Which means I hopefully won’t be struggling to maintain a playerbase like I was with the Blingdenstone game I tried to run last fall.

Of course, blogging will be mandatory. So wake up, little bloggie! Daddy needs to write something new.

Blogging For Skeptoid

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Dec 212012
 

Apropos of nothing concerning D&D Next, I just wanted to take a moment to promote some work I’ve been doing for another site.

For the last month or so, I’ve been posting weekly blogs over at the Skeptoid Blog, which is connected to the excellent Skeptoid podcast. The subject matter over there is taking a critical look at popular beliefs like UFOs, Bigfoot, and alternative medicines. Or topics like the Mayan Apocalypse, which I just posted an article about.

If you’re reading this and like what you’ve read on my blog, I’d appreciate it if you gave my Skeptoid posts a read. And heck, why not sample the podcast while you’re there; it’s really good.

I promise more D&D Next stuff this weekend.

The New Rogue Is A Stabby Machine [Part 1]

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Dec 182012
 

Like you, I’ve spent the last 12 hours or so digesting the new D&D Next playtest packet and taking all the new goodness. There’s a lot to talk about: Skill Dice, Martial Combat Dice, Monk Traditions, etc. But the one that I was really curious about was the new Rogue. It’s the biggest change to a class between packets. Is it better than before? Let’s build one out and see!

For this little demo, I went straight to 5th Level. 1st level characters are boring. Instead of going for min/max, I built out a version of my perpetual rogue character, Agnatharius “Lucky” Two-Shy. I went with the Trickster Rogue Scheme, because it fit Lucky perfectly, and also used the Charlitan background. To give him some combat crunch I chose the Skirmisher specialty. [TBH, in a real campaign I'd probably a'la carte everything, but for this example these choices were good enough.] Here he is. Continue reading »

Playing A Monk

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Dec 162012
 

After a failed attempt last month, I finally got into a local D&D Next playtest game yesterday. It was a basic playtest game with players new to the system — one person was even entirely new to D&D — and it used the pre-generated characters from the playtest pack, but I got permission from the DM to bring a 1st level monk (actually, this one).

I had a great time. The group was loose and casual, and the DM started us right at the entrance to the Caves of Chaos, so there wasn’t a lot of role-playing or plot. We went in without a cleric (two players both chose the Dwarf Fighter pre-gen, one chose the Elf Wizard, and one the Halfling Rogue), which turned out to be a bad idea when we ran into the ogre, but by the end of four hours we were able to clear out the entire goblin cave.

The last time  I rolled dice as a player was in a 4E RPGA game, and the difference between my last turn as a player and this one were noticeable  The “speed of combat” means one thing when you’re a DM, where you’re constantly engaged; but as a player, where the downtime between turns could be intolerable in a 4E game (or even a 3.5 game), the speed means something more. There were a few slowdowns where we tried to figure out odd rulings, but overall I was pleased as a player with the speed and ease of play.

I joined this playtest specifically to test the Monk, and at 1st level I found him to be fun. Flurry of Blows is an interesting Maneuver to use, sort of like Deadly Strike but trading certainty (you need to make an attack roll) for flexibility (you can target a different creature). I was disappointed in Ki Stroke, but only because my target (the goblin chieftain) made his saving throw so it never really went off. Overall it’s a solid design without being over-the-top. Much better than the first stabs at Warlock and Sorcerer.

I’m looking forward to next time.

Let’s Get Rid Of Stat Scores

 games  2 Responses »
Dec 052012
 

As I’ve been learning the D&D Next system more and more, I increasingly begin to wonder: is it time to do away with stat scores? I think that it might be.

The reason I say that is because the actual stat score is meaningless. Only the bonus matters. What is a Strength of 16, in-game? It’s a +3 to dice rolls. What is a Strength of 17, in-game? It’s a +3 to dice rolls. Functionally, on the tabletop, there is zero difference between them. There’s literally zero value for me, as a player, in knowing whether my +3 comes from a 16 or a 17 during play. So why the distinction?

Maybe, just maybe, it’s time to streamline things a little, declutter the character sheet, and just assign each stat a plus-bonus. Cut out the 3-18 base score altogether and adjust the game to … well, not really to do anything, since the game already runs on plus-bonus, not stat score.

The only justification for the 3-18 stat scores in the current system, as I can see them, are the following: Continue reading »

WotC Snubs 4E For The Holidays

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Nov 192012
 

Lest there be any doubt in your mind that the January announcement of the D&D Next Playtest was anything less than a knife in the back of the not-even-four-year-old 4E system, check this out: WotC’s 2012 Holiday Guide, which features not a single 4E-specific product.

Click to embiggenate.

1E reprints? Check. 3E reprints? Check. Anything specific to the 4E ruleset? No check! And if your first response is to point out that “Hey, they’re just highlighting all their releases over the last six months or so” … well, yeah, that’s kinda the point.

And people wondered why I compared 4E to New Coke.

Ooh, Shiny! The Monk!

 games  1 Response »
Nov 132012
 

After last week’s D&D Next G+ Hangout, we all knew something was in the pipeline this week. Turns out it was the monk! Yay! So, of course, I had to make one.

Amber Leaf, Human Monk (1st level)

STR 13; DEX 17; CON 14; INT 09; WIS 17; CHA  11

HP: 9; AC: 16 [Mindful Defense]; Initiative: +7

Attack: Unarmed Strike +6 [1d6+3]; Light crossbow +6 [1d6+3]

Maneuvers [1d4]: Flurry of Blows, Step of the Wind

Ki [1/day]: Stunning Strike

Skills: Balance, Disable Device, Escape Artist, Search, Sneak, Tumble [Guild Thief]

Feats: Improved Initiative [Ambush Specialist]

The Human stat bonuses really work to the advantage of the Monk, who has two important abilities (they both feed into his AC, so I want them as high as possible). There’s really no melee weapon in the Monk’s arsenal that’s any better than unarmed strike, which is slightly disappointing, but it fits the archetype. So in combat he’s pretty much punching at first level, using Flurry of Blows each time, and relying on maneuvering and his decent AC to keep him alive.At 10th level, he gets much more interesting …

Amber Leaf, Human Monk (10th level)

STR 13; DEX 19; CON 14; INT 09; WIS 19; CHA  11

HP: 73; AC: 18 [Mindful Defense]; Initiative: +8

Attack: Unarmed Strike +9 [1d6+4]; Light crossbow +9 [1d6+4]

Maneuvers [3d10]: Deadly Strike, Flurry of Blows, Hurricane Strike, Step of the Wind, Whirlwind Attack

Ki [3/day]: Stunning Strike, Wholeness of Body

Skills: Balance, Disable Device, Escape Artist, Search, Sneak, Tumble [Guild Thief]

Feats: Ambusher, Bushwhacker Tactics, Guerrilla tactics, Improved Initiative [Ambush Specialist]

He’s much more interesting at 10th level. Both Dex and Wis are almost capped out at 19 apiece, meaning that at 12th-level (assuming progression remains consistent) he’ll be able to cap both out at 20 and get an unarmed AC of 20! In combat he’s not only more maneuverable, but he’s doing more damage (thanks in part to Deadly Strike, which feels more or less mandatory for the Monk to increase his regular damage output [don't say "Maneuver Tax" ... yet]) and thanks to fun Maneuvers like Hurricane Strike. Consider:

Amber Leaf attacks first, thanks to Improved Initiative. He gains Advantage on the attack [Bushwhacker Tactics], and if he hits, he first invokes Stunning Strike [Ki, chance to stun, Wisdom save DC 17], then Deadly Strike [+2d10 Damage] and then invokes Hurricane Attack [knocks enemy 10 feet and prone unless save].

Best case scenario, Amber Leaf has just done 30 damage and knocked the enemy both Stunned AND Prone, all before the enemy gets a move. Ouch!

I like the monk. I think it’s a solid design — much better than our initial look at Warlock or Sorcerer.

Makin’ PCs

 games  1 Response »
Nov 082012
 

Quick update to the last post.

First: Thanks for all the suggestions!

Second: Not surprisingly, I just couldn’t make up my mind even with all the suggestions. So I decided to let my minis decide.

I have a big container full of minis I haven’t painted yet. When I’m stuck for a character, I like to choose one and build a character around it. This not only lets me try random things, but then, because I’m using the mini, I paint the mini, thus getting one more out of the unpainted bin.

Well, this time I came up with not one, and not two, but SEVEN minis I thought might be fun to play with. After some thinking, I paired it down to three: one Fighter, one Rogue, and one Wizard. And then I set about creating the characters. I wasn’t looking to min-max these; I wanted to create interesting characters that would let me test the flexibility of this system and the mixing/matching of Class, Specialty, and Background. They are:

  • Argyll, “The Blade-biter”, Human Rogue with a Trickster scheme, Ambush specialty, and Thug background. I wanted to do this wiry, creepy guy who’s constantly a little on edge. He’s not a particularly traditional Rogue (no Sneak skill, for instance), but I think he’ll be fun.
  • Denton Le Dale, Human Fighter sports the Duelist scheme, also has Ambush specialty, and has a Bounty Hunter background. I wanted to do a swashbuckler character and play with the idea of a DEX fighter. I ended up thinking about Inigo Montoya as I made him, and so I thought the bounty hunter element would make him a little more like that fabled swordsman (after all, they did kidnap buttercup for a bounty).
  • Norris Barliman, Dwarf Wizard, because, hey, why not? Actually, I just had this Dwarven Brewmaster figure in the case and really wanted to do something with it. Making a dwarf wizard was interesting; I went Battle Mage tradition and gave him Endurance specialty, to make him a little more combat-ready, and of course an Artisan [Brewer] background.

As you can see, there’s a bit of “playing against type” in here. I thought this creation process would help me decide, but now I just want to play all three of them. Well, almost; I don’t know that I particularly like Denton’s swashbuckler build, but that may be me just needing to rethink him a bit. I think Argyll is my favorite overall character, but Norris sounds like a really fun time, too.

Ah, decisions, decisions. I need to choose soon, so I can get the mini painted for Saturday!

Fighter, Rogue, or Wizard?

 games  6 Responses »
Nov 052012
 

IT’S ALIVE!!!!!

Hey folks! Long time, no blog. Sorry. I drifted away from D&D Next for a little while. The D&D Next playtest I ran went for two sessions, but nothing terribly exciting ever came out of it so I didn’t bother blogging about it; and my son has lost interest in D&D and Magic for the time being (he’s given himself wholly over to Minecraft); and life got in the way with all its work hours and kids sick and stuff.

But, with a new playtest packet and a new play opportunity coming up, I hope to be more active blogging again. And speaking of new playtest opportunities, I have a question for y’all …

Fighter, Rogue, or Wizard?

I finally have a chance to play in a D&D Next playtest event AS A PLAYER, instead of my usual role as DM. And I can’t decide which class to play! I don’t want to play a cleric; I know that much. But between the other three, I’m so torn.

  • I am a fan of the Fighter, now that combat dice are coming into their own. I want to get a first-hand feel for it.
  • Ditto the Rogue; and since this packet is a first implementation of the rule for Rogues, I feel I might be able to generate some good feedback by playng it.
  • And then there’s the Wizard, a class that is getting so fragmented right now that I want to play it just to see if it’s really as much of a confusing trainwreck as it seems at first glance.

So, help me out. Which one should I choose, and why? I need to decide before Saturday. Preferably lots before, so I can spend time here on the blog hashing out character choices. Feed my need in the comments below!

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