[DnD] D&D Arena Signups and Discussion

Well, an evil paladin probably wouldn't be the best choice for an actual adventure, but for the purpose of the arena (unless you've got some surprise moral dilemnas for the players ) it shouldn't be too much of a problem. After all, an evil character won't have any second thoughts about charging head first into a bloodfest!

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Zergrinch

Okay then. You chose a ranger, currently my specialty. There are four types: guy who's purely bow and arrows, a guy who dual-wields swords, a cross between the first two, and a guy who uses an animal companion in battle. Which one would you rather be? (Or do you want to be surprised? Your choice of kobold with its dexterity bonus is better suited for long-range attacks)

Or, you could always let Pang outfit you. That's cool too.

Ebony (Kobold Ranger), played by a lurker

Ebony K-dawg gon' be thug. Gimme dual-wield.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Likewise, I have no clue whatsoever about character generation. Given the hard bitten, nearly retired, grouchy old black dude nature of the character, I think a banishing evil type priest rather than a kindly healing type priest would be the best bet. As he's a werewolf, I see him as a guy who's spent his life trying to banish other evil monster types to atone for his own sins by slaying the fuck out of them. Should probably have a hand crossbow for neck-cracking bad-guy sniping, needs to be rubbish at hand to hand combat but make him wise as fuck. Also has several unfeasibly young children who get kidnapped a lot and definitely aren't allowed to sleep with the Kobold.

Now seems the ideal time to repost this:



I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

These seem to be pretty much in line, I'll do up proper wiki sheets later.

The basic idea here is that if Ebony manages to miss then one of you fucked up somewhere.

Oh wait shit Zerg already put a sheet up well I'll just leave these here if anybody wants them.

====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======
Ivory, level 5
Longtooth Shifter, Cleric
Build: Shielding Cleric
Background: Occupation - Zealous Slayer, Geography - Urban, Shifter - City Shifter (+2 to Endurance)

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 13, Con 10, Dex 10, Int 8, Wis 21, Cha 15.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 11, Con 10, Dex 10, Int 8, Wis 18, Cha 14.


AC: 21 Fort: 14 Reflex: 13 Will: 20
HP: 42 Surges: 7 Surge Value: 10

TRAINED SKILLS
Religion +6, Arcana +6, Insight +12, Heal +14, Endurance +10

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Acrobatics +1, Bluff +4, Diplomacy +4, Dungeoneering +7, History +1, Intimidate +4, Nature +7, Perception +7, Stealth +1, Streetwise +4, Thievery +1, Athletics +4

FEATS
Cleric: Ritual Caster
Level 1: Harbinger of Rebirth
Level 2: Soldier of Virtue
Level 4: Courageous Example

POWERS
Channel Divinity: Turn Undead
Cleric at-will 1: Astral Seal
Cleric at-will 1: Gaze of Defiance
Cleric encounter 1: Exacting Utterance
Cleric daily 1: Shield of the Gods
Cleric utility 2: Return from Death's Door
Cleric encounter 3: Destined Duel
Cleric daily 5: Iron to Glass

ITEMS
Ritual Book, Adventurer's Kit, Symbol of Shared Healing +2, Swiftshot Crossbow +1, Magic Finemail +2, Amulet of Protection +1, Potion of Healing (heroic tier), Tethercord (level 3)
RITUALS
Gentle Repose, Banish Vermin
====== Copy to Clipboard and Press the Import Button on the Summary Tab ======

====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======
Ebony, level 5
Kobold, Ranger
Build: Marauder Ranger
Fighting Style: Marauder Fighting Style
Ranger: Running Attack
Background: Early Life - Child Prodigy, Renegade, Geography - Urban (+2 to Athletics)

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 19, Con 12, Dex 13, Int 10, Wis 15, Cha 8.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 18, Con 10, Dex 11, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 8.


AC: 18 Fort: 17 Reflex: 15 Will: 14
HP: 44 Surges: 7 Surge Value: 11

TRAINED SKILLS
Nature +9, Athletics +12, Acrobatics +7, Dungeoneering +9, Endurance +7

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Arcana +2, Bluff +1, Diplomacy +1, Heal +4, History +2, Insight +4, Intimidate +1, Perception +4, Religion +2, Stealth +4, Streetwise +1, Thievery +4

FEATS
Level 1: Manticore's Fury
Level 2: Flank on the Run
Level 4: Impending Victory

POWERS
Ranger at-will 1: Marauder's Rush
Ranger at-will 1: Throw and Stab
Ranger encounter 1: Hurling Charge
Ranger daily 1: Scything Blow
Ranger utility 2: Agile Recovery
Ranger encounter 3: Avenging Charge
Ranger daily 5: Wounded Beast

ITEMS
Challenge-Seeking Short sword +2, Flesh Seeker Handaxe +2, Shared Suffering Hide Armor +1, Potion of Healing (heroic tier), Adventurer's Kit, Alchemist's Fire (level 6)
====== Copy to Clipboard and Press the Import Button on the Summary Tab ======

Originally Posted by Rychord

Quick question: The player's handbook doesn't list Lawful Evil or Chaotic Good as alignment choices. Is this because they've been taken out of the game or simply because they are listed in a more advanced part of the guide?

Alignment has been consolidated pretty heavily. Both Lawful and Neutral Evil are now under the heading of regular ol' Evil, and Chaotic and Neutral Good are both simply Good.

The only direct mechanical impact of alignment in 4E is which gods you can worship, so don't stress it much.

How ya doing, buddy?

Looks pretty spot on to me, Pang, although I of course haven't read any of the detail on the powers yet but the names certainly look cool! Do shifters change into furries whenever they want or just on full moons? If it's the latter, can we make the campaign start at dusk on the full moon so it's a desperate battle against time before Ivory goes wolf AND FOR NO REASONABLE REASON STAYS THAT WAY FOREVVVVAAAAAAAARRRRRR?

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

They only get all Teen Wolf when they get bloodied. Which, as a non-melee guy, shouldn't usually happen to you. INTERNAL CONFLICT.

Most amazing jew boots

Oh ok, lends itself to a suitably dramatic getting hit then going postal moment though.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I can't wait to cradle your broken body in my arms, promising that I'll tell your wife that you love her, and finally peeling back the childish fronts that I've put up in order to protect my heart from breaking.

ONLY THREE DAYS AWAY FROM RETIREMENT

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Okay, I guess Pang's ranger build is closer to what lurker wants to do. I guess since he's left them blank, I'll just do the Level 4 skill increase choices on the primary and secondary attributes...

Oh my lord, look at the bonuses to hit on that ranger build.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I'm down with that. I'm stronger in that one anyway.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Certainly more flexible, yes, since you can easily abuse your two at-wills in a combo that give you insane to-hit bonuses. Never mind Shin's bonus-granting at-wills.

I bow to Pang's optimization-fu and look forward to seeing him create an endless attack spam chain for his own character!

Character Sheets:
Shin - Ivory, Longtooth Shifter Cleric
a lurker - Ebony, Kobold Ranger

Well, I guess gimme a few hours to finalize stuff and start the thread!

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Fuck yes we are going to be the best team ever.

Unless of course Zerg is a git and just throws things at us that can only be hurt by necrotic attacks or something.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Alas, while that indeed sounds rather inviting, I cannot find any monsters at an appropriate level which is vulnerable to only one element

Additional Spam:

Originally Posted by a_lurker

move to n8 (I don't have to shift do I? Since I'm out out of the guy's range for AoO)

You're leaving a threatened square. That would normally trigger an OA (say, if Ivory attempts it), but happily your "Flank on the Run" feat lets you move around (though not away from) an enemy without fear.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Quick question about my Astral Seal power. Where it says regain an additional five hitpoints, how exactly? I mean, from the description it looks like the attack lowers the defences of whatever it hits, then if lurker hits the same dude she gets back 9hp (2 +2 for charisma +2 for symbol of shared healing). Am I reading that right?

Also how are you working out the damage those longswords did to me? It looks like I got hit by all three but you didn't roll for damage implying a standard damage amount but 16 doesn't divide by 3 last time I checked.

Edit: Oh wait, one missed. So do they do a standard 8 damage per hit?

FELIPE NO

Clerics have a class feature called Healer's Lore, which adds their Wisdom bonus to Healing powers. So if Lurker hits whatever you mark with your Astral Seal, she gains 2 + your CHA mod (2) + your WIS mod (5).

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Ah, I see, cheers.

Zerg, you never rolled for my first gaze of defiance damage either. It says it does 1D8+7 on the card and +9 vs will means I easily hit it with an 8. I'll do my own rolls normally if I remember, I was just in a bit of a rush this morning.

Edit: With the +2 for running it was actually 2+ to hit on that last attack, way to roll a 1, Shin.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Wait I'm confused. Is Shin just being old and cranky or is he really dying already?

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Nawww. Shin's at 24HP (60%). Still good to go!

________


Sorry Shin, I thought Gaze of Defiance had no damage roll. I shall rectify accordingly. The reason I didn't roll for damage on the enemy attack was, they're minions as implied. It'd be unsporting to hit you guys with four full-fledged monsters at a fight I'm terming as "training", wouldn't it? (I mean, this is budgeted as an 'easy' fight with 307 XP)

Anyway, Soldier 2 is dead. Would you like to edit your post, Shin? Since this fact would change your strategy. Go ahead and reroll that 1, I owe you that much.

By the way, you're marked by Soldier 1. What that means is, you take a -2 penalty to any attack roll that doesn't include it as a target. Furthermore if you shift or attack anything other than it, it makes a melee basic attack as an immediate interrupt.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Nah, fair's fair, I'll keep the 1. Only a minor edit, turned the second shift into a move for a bit more distance, I'll take the AoO for being marked, there's no way he can kill me after all. You said we get one action point per fight essentially so there's no real need to not use it here.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Posting to signify my interest in also participating in a five player dungeon delve. If I'm gonna put the time in to learn the new rules I might as well go for the full monty.

I was speaking idiomatically.

I have no idea if I did any of that right. Can you please tell me if I did? The big thing I was confused on was that I have a +11 attack on my short sword, AND I have 19 strength, does this mean I'm always going to be able to hit the captain? Because his AC is only 20.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Ah, mechanics. The 19 strength on your abilities list translates to a strength modifier of +4. Add half your level rounded down (5/2 = 2), and you get a strength check of 6.

Your +11 to hit with short sword already takes this into account. To be more precise, it is composed of +4 strength mod, +3 proficiency bonus, +2 item enchantment, and half your level rounded down +2.

You don't add strength to attack rolls though. So your dice roll of 4 is added to your to-hit of 11, for a total of 15. This is against the appropriate defense (in our case AC 20, so you missed.)

You have very specific bonuses to your attack rolls1. If you move 2 or more squares as part of any attack, there's a +1 bonus. If the attack is a charge, another +1. There's a +1 bonus for at-wills against bloodied enemies. Shin, of course, can give you extra bonuses with a few of his powers. Which is why Pang said if Ebony misses, one of you are doing something wrong

You did the damage rolls correctly. 1d6 for damage, then 1d6 for the quarry (your sword's extra 1d6 damage only applies when you hit an enemy who's at full HP). You just add the dice rolls to your +8 damage to calculate the total. (The +8 already takes into account the +4 strength mod, +2 wisdom mod, and +2 item enhancement.) You also have a bunch of very situational damage bonuses: +2 if you alternate range and melee on the same enemy, +1d6 against undamaged enemies if you hit them with your sword, and of course your 1d6 quarry damage applicable once per round.

So if you had hit with the attack roll (a roll of 9+), you'd be dishing out 6+8+2=16 damage.

Recap!

To determine whether you hit, add the appropriate attack bonus to your dice roll, and apply any additional bonuses or penalties.2
To determine damage, add the damage bonus to your dice roll, and apply any additional bonuses or penalties3.

1 - It is so specific that I might, with great probability, forget it entirely. So do yell in this thread if this happens.
2 - In addition to what I listed, bonuses might include combat advantage

Many, many ways to get this. See PHB pg 280 for the list.

(+2), while penalties might include running before attacking (-5), and enemy having cover (-2) or superior cover (-5) which are mostly applicable to ranged attacks only. PHB pg 279 has a list.
3 - The only penalty I can think of here is if you're weakened, which divides your total damage by 2 and rounds down.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Zergrinch

Ah, mechanics. The 19 strength on your abilities list translates to a strength modifier of +4. Add half your level rounded down (5/2 = 2), and you get a strength check of 6.

Your +11 to hit with short sword already takes this into account. To be more precise, it is composed of +4 strength mod, +3 proficiency bonus, +2 item enchantment, and half your level rounded down +2.

You don't add strength to attack rolls though. So your dice roll of 4 is added to your to-hit of 11, for a total of 15. This is against the appropriate defense (in our case AC 20, so you missed.)

You have very specific bonuses to your attack rolls1. If you move 2 or more squares as part of any attack, there's a +1 bonus. If the attack is a charge, another +1. There's a +1 bonus for at-wills against bloodied enemies. Shin, of course, can give you extra bonuses with a few of his powers. Which is why Pang said if Ebony misses, one of you are doing something wrong

You did the damage rolls correctly. 1d6 for damage, then 1d6 for the quarry (your sword's extra 1d6 damage only applies when you hit an enemy who's at full HP). You just add the dice rolls to your +8 damage to calculate the total. (The +8 already takes into account the +4 strength mod, +2 wisdom mod, and +2 item enhancement.) You also have a bunch of very situational damage bonuses: +2 if you alternate range and melee on the same enemy, +1d6 against undamaged enemies if you hit them with your sword, and of course your 1d6 quarry damage applicable once per round.

So if you had hit with the attack roll (a roll of 9+), you'd be dishing out 6+8+2=16 damage.

Recap!

To determine whether you hit, add the appropriate attack bonus to your dice roll, and apply any additional bonuses or penalties.2
To determine damage, add the damage bonus to your dice roll, and apply any additional bonuses or penalties3.

1 - It is so specific that I might, with great probability, forget it entirely. So do yell in this thread if this happens.
2 - In addition to what I listed, bonuses might include combat advantage

(+2), while penalties might include running before attacking (-5), and enemy having cover (-2) or superior cover (-5) which are mostly applicable to ranged attacks only. PHB pg 279 has a list.
3 - The only penalty I can think of here is if you're weakened, which divides your total damage by 2 and rounds down.

can you just do my rolls, then?

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Sure. Just remind me if I forget about stuff k? There's a lot of complexity in how Ebony hits

Most amazing jew boots

In retrospect, I should have just piled Ebony up with straight weapon training bonuses instead of all that situational stuff. Not as flexible maybe but certainly easier to understand. Oh well

There's nowhere I can't reach.