I’m returning to my class review series with a class you guys probably know about. Each week you see her punch people and turn into a fish to use Savage Rend. Sadly, awesome imaginary bear companions named Captain Bearbossa are not a standard in this installment’s class: the Druid.
Flavor
One of the stranger parts of 4E D&D is the power sources. While I haven’t a single problem with their choices of power sources, I do question how many classes take their powers from the same source. In the case of the Druid, she is one of five different classes based around Primal powers. My problem is that with so many classes taking their powers from one source the lines separating them start to blur a little bit. In 3.5 the Druid was your all purpose “nature” character. They controlled nature, got an animal companion, and could turn into an animal. In 4E the Druid loses a lot of this unique charm as the Shaman and Warden essentially play as the same thing: nature themed warriors.
The best way I’ve found to separate the classes comes down to their main mechanic. For the Warden it’s all about using nature to strengthen oneself, for the Shaman it’s about communion with the spirits, and for the Druid it’s all about animals. Look at it that way and you get a bit more defined flavor, but it feels a little too pigeon holed. Pretty much the only thing separating the Druid from the Warden is that she can wildshape, and she commands nature via spells as opposed to the Warden who uses weapons. This is a case of too many classes trying to do the same thing: fight with nature. 3.5’s Druid dabbled in a little bit of everything, but now she feels less unique when (after the mechanics are stripped away) she’s no different than the Warden and the Shaman.
Ironically, the Druid does feel distinctly different from the other Primal Controller, the Seeker. Where the Druid is fighting using nature directly, the Seeker is more like a tribesman who reveres nature and uses it to his advantage when hunting. Heck if the Primal classes were limited to Barbarian, Druid, Seeker I’d be fine, but I suppose I’ve gone on enough of a rant. The Druid isn’t bad at all. She still maintains her charm and if she’s the only Primal character in your party then there’s no problem. It’s only when the Shaman or Warden joins the group that you’ll start to feel a little less unique.
Mechanics
Two features define the Druid: Wildshape and Primal Aspect. Wildshape is the power all Druids have and is the class defining ability. Flavor wise it means you can turn into an animal, but mechanically what it means is that you can switch between melee and ranged at ease and you are perhaps the most versatile character when it comes to combat situations. Basically with a minor action (and with Paragon level feat, a free action) once per round you shift between your natural form and your “Beast Form”. The two forms work separately, and no power that works in one form will work in the other. Essentially Druid powers may or may not contain the term “Beast Form” in the keywords. If it does, you can use it in Beast Form, and not natural form; if it doesn’t, then vice versa. Making both forms competent is the key to the Druid, and as such all Druids are allowed to pick three At-Will powers (four if you’re human) under one condition: One must have the Beast Form keyword, and one must not. Thus no matter what form you are in you’ll be able to fight.
Making this mechanic work is the primary duty of the Druid. If one part of the Druid isn’t up to par then her usefulness decreases. What truly makes the Druid frightening is that she can be a huge impact on the battlefield either at range or at close range without the mess of changing weapons or managing implements. One implement (either the Totem or the Staff) and that device works in Beast Form as well. Since Wildshape has no limit to how many times it can be used per encounter (once per round however) a truly frightening Druid can effortlessly shift between the two forms to control the battlefield as she sees fit.
The Primal Aspect is the class feature chosen at the beginning of character creation that defines the character. This choice can never be changed, and will define the way the character is played and which powers are strengthened. For the Druid there are three: Primal Predator, Primal Guardian, and Primal Swarm. All three have a unique benefit and play to a secondary role. First up is the Primal Predator which is a mobile Controller that functions as a secondary Striker. Whenever a Predator isn’t wearing heavy armor their base speed increases by one, so for an Eleven Predator they can have a base speed of 8 at level 1! Mobility is their strong suit and they will often use beast form to move through the battlefield dealing damage.
Primal Guardians lean more towards spellcasters who excel in repositioning powers making them good secondary leaders. As long as they don’t wear heavy armor they get to add their CON score to their AC as opposed to the DEX/INT that other classes use. This makes them burly spell casters who spend most of their time in their natural form casting spells from afar. The last aspect is Primal Swarm with the idea being that instead of turning into a single animal you turn into a mob of smaller animals (like insects or snakes). This makes it so every attack that hits them while in Beast Form is reduced by the Druid’s CON modifier. Their powers help them function as secondary defenders, though their generally low AC keeps them from full timing in tanking. Still, they have plenty of powers to ensure their foes stick with them.
So the choice in Aspect will define the Druid, but all of them still find their abilities rooted in a balance between forms. They have the ability to use simple melee and ranged weapons, but this is next to useless considering you have melee and ranged options built right into your powers.
Learning Curve
Like all Controllers the Druid is tough to play without spending time to learn what they can and cannot do. Even if you can play a secondary role, you’ll never be as good as a full time member of that role, and building a Druid can be difficult. The number one thing to boost is Wisdom as that is their attack score for every power they have. Predators should then place a good amount of points (16 – 18) into Dexterity while Swarm and Guardians should put those points into Constitution. The remainder of points should go into boosting the NAD their Druid is weakest in—so for Predators put a few points in Strength or Constitution (probably the latter), and for Swarm and Guardians put them in either Dexterity or Intelligence (preferably the former). Charisma will be your dump stat as your Will defense is already high to begin with (class +1 bonus and you’re attack stat is Wisdom), but some may keep it so they have good diplomatic skills. That’s the only reason to keep it.
Playing the Druid can be a complicated and sometimes overwhelming process. You are far from simple, so if you want to play something as simple as “swing and kill” then try the Barbarian. Here you need to plan your turns out in advance and think how you can make the biggest impact on the field. Is it killing a monster? Is it shifting the battlefield? Is it locking down a big Elite? Your versatility means that you should never find yourself in a situation where you can’t do something. Like all Controllers, don’t think “how do I kill that”, think “how can I stop that guy from doing what he wants?” Finding the balance between forms can take some work but eventually you’ll learn when you’re needed in combat, and when you aren’t.
A common theme you’ll find with Druid powers is “zones”. Learning how to manage zones can be a difficult part of playing the Druid, but used effectively you may just turn the entire tide on a battle. In addition Druid have access to summoned creatures as a daily power, but unlike other summons the Druid’s are useful without wasting actions on them. Every summon has a built in instinctive effect that activates if you don’t give them any commands on your turn, so it’ll be worth it to at least invest into one or two of these guys to help in controlling. My personal early favorites are the Giant Toad (Reach 3—meaning it can attack enemies within three squares), the Shadow Ape (grants concealment to all allies on a hit), and the Crocodile (large, and he grapples the enemy with a hit). Remember that a Druid’s daily power should help change the flow of battle, so don’t be afraid to change your Daily out after leveling up if it’s not working out.
Overall
I still like playing the Druid in 4E even if I find the flavor a bit too… common. They’re fun classes to play albeit a tad bit confusing. Sadly that’s the state of most Controllers, but hey you should know what you’re getting into already. Learning the balance takes time, but there’s always something inherently enjoyable about turning into a wolverine and ripping your opponent’s face off. Or turning into a bear and punching people*.
Alright, well that’s my review of the Druid. Next time I’ll take a look at the Warlord—everyone’s favorite commanding asshole.
Until next time, Namaste!
*Warning! Punching people as a bear is apparently NOT a good way to stop a panic attack. Use at your own risk.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
D&D Log: Session 14
Like a bolt from the blue, it’s the D&D recap! Sorry, that was an obscure The World Ends with You reference. Great game by the way.
So if we pick ourselves up from last week we’re back at the charred remains of the farmstead where the few surviving family members were. As Juliet and Viktor started preparing graves for the fallen, Garrett started to go through crazy mental flashes (*sigh* again) seeing an enormous army to the north I believe. Before passing out he went all Super Satan and warned us that “she built them for war” and that “she’s coming” or something to that effect. Everyone freaked out and wanted to leave, but Juliet was adamant about burying the bodies. Now I should mention I had reasons for doing this both in and out of character. In character this incident affected Juliet quite personally, and I’ll be mentioning it in character when the time is right. Out of character I remembered Spoony saying that the army was passed a major road, and I figured that road would be at least a day’s travel away. Well uh… der I was wrong out of character as our party went to sleep and before we could finish our last shift we found ourselves surrounded by elves. I think they outnumbered us by three or four, and I thank God Joe wasn’t here yet because I can guarantee Lord Vane II wouldn’t have surrendered like the rest of us did. So not long after starting the session our group was captured. Fantastic.
All of us were tied up and stripped of our weapons and armor, and the spell casters were gagged. Considering this is the second time we’ve been captured like this, I think in the case of Juliet, Viktor, and Garret this could be a running… gag. See, get it? I can make bad puns too. But seriously, we were ushered into a camp where more elves and machines started to pile in until almost 3,000 units were in the camp. As they began to loot our stuff they found the Word of Morgana, and predictably Darstine began to howl like she’d just been stabbed in the heart with a burning hot pike. Hmmm, that was too graphic. Alright she screamed like someone told her they were going to force her to watch Ultraviolet. Oh man, that actually seems worse. Well this prompted the lead elf to question the book, and we noticed then that the head elf was Tamier, Lord Esgalion’s squire. He held ill will towards Viktor. Surprisingly little towards Juliet who carried around his lord’s head for about half a month. Dodged a bullet there I guess.
We learned the army was an advance wave that was on route to Sarmanath, but they were quite eager to send us back to suffer the Witch Queen’s wrath. Garret managed to convince Tamier to let us get the Well of Souls however or else Tamier would never have the book, and as such we remained prisoners of the elves for the night. Thank God word doesn’t travel fast about Grae inciting racial riots against the elves or Juliet carrying around lobbed off parts of elven lords. Truth be told for being prisoners things weren’t too bad. It mostly just amounted to spending an evening bound and gagged, and for Juliet that’s nothing new. Hey~Oh!
We woke up, they cut our bonds, and gave us our equipment back—except Lilea who was kept as a hostage. Spoony said in any other situation Juliet would have been the hostage, but fuck that, Juliet ain’t no damsel in distress (well, I guess excluding the two times she’s been taken prisoner, but let’s ignore those). Had he done it you’d have seen Juliet throw down! I’d have gone all bear form and started fighting like they did in the 1920’s. You know, like how the Notre Dame Fighting Irish fights? I’d have gotten myself a novelty oversize cigar and started calling people palooka, and then Captain Bearbossa my awesome bear companion (who totally exists!) would have shown up and we’d have gotten into a rumble, a tussle, a scrap, a box social even! Yeah, who’s the damsel now? Tamier knows he was scared. Punk.
Anyway, we were led due west to the Fiery Plains, though the journey proved difficult for the iron constructs in the army. They continued to get stuck in the crumbling landscape, and many were left behind. The longer we traveled the more casualties the army suffered, so uh… go nature? Before long even Lilea was freed and re-equipped as Tamier, I assume, wanted to give us every advantage. Tamier is kind of stupid though because now he doesn’t have anything to use against us. Oh wait, he still has an army. Crap.
Well we entered the Aberhold Keep which is rumored to be where Galendread’s tower was and thus where we can find the Well of Souls. The castle, predictably, was mostly destroyed but with large stacks of rubble placed curiously around the courtyard. The ground itself was unstable, and the heat was so intense that we’d be asked to make Endurance checks every few hours. So our plan is to be in and out, right? Nah, I think we’re trying to explore the entire castle to give us time to escape. I’ve got a few ideas myself, though truth be told I kinda want to talk to Tamier again. The guy said some things I’m interested in learning more about. S’well, we shall see what happens there. Our adventure ended after an encounter. We came upon a set of steel door beneath one of the corner towers of the castle. We opened the door only to find a room of cobwebs and a creepy laugh not unlike a child. At this point I was booking it towards the exit…
BUT WAIT! Grae is here to save us as he’s already got his bedroll cocked and ready to hurl it into the chamber. It succeeded and the room was lit ablaze, and we promptly shut the doors so we could let our good friend Mr. Fire sort things out. Done and done. Oh wait, they could teleport. That’s right. Yeah, so these fuckers teleport out of the room and then actually proceed to teleport us back into the room, well at least Grae. Poor Grae got manhandled by those creepy mantis things. The rest of us squashed some bugs, and the session ended after Lord Vane killed the last mantis and then my Storm Spike made the bug explode afterwards. I was easy to please by the end of the night.
This was a rollercoaster of a session. Looking by the end when we were slaying bugs and throw burning sleeping bags you’d almost forget that like two days earlier we all spent the night tied half naked to wooden poles. Good times, good times. We’re to play again next week, so stayed tuned for the continuing adventures (and inevitably dehydration of) “TEH GREATEST PARTY EVAR!!!” That’s our name now.
Until next time, Namaste!
So if we pick ourselves up from last week we’re back at the charred remains of the farmstead where the few surviving family members were. As Juliet and Viktor started preparing graves for the fallen, Garrett started to go through crazy mental flashes (*sigh* again) seeing an enormous army to the north I believe. Before passing out he went all Super Satan and warned us that “she built them for war” and that “she’s coming” or something to that effect. Everyone freaked out and wanted to leave, but Juliet was adamant about burying the bodies. Now I should mention I had reasons for doing this both in and out of character. In character this incident affected Juliet quite personally, and I’ll be mentioning it in character when the time is right. Out of character I remembered Spoony saying that the army was passed a major road, and I figured that road would be at least a day’s travel away. Well uh… der I was wrong out of character as our party went to sleep and before we could finish our last shift we found ourselves surrounded by elves. I think they outnumbered us by three or four, and I thank God Joe wasn’t here yet because I can guarantee Lord Vane II wouldn’t have surrendered like the rest of us did. So not long after starting the session our group was captured. Fantastic.
All of us were tied up and stripped of our weapons and armor, and the spell casters were gagged. Considering this is the second time we’ve been captured like this, I think in the case of Juliet, Viktor, and Garret this could be a running… gag. See, get it? I can make bad puns too. But seriously, we were ushered into a camp where more elves and machines started to pile in until almost 3,000 units were in the camp. As they began to loot our stuff they found the Word of Morgana, and predictably Darstine began to howl like she’d just been stabbed in the heart with a burning hot pike. Hmmm, that was too graphic. Alright she screamed like someone told her they were going to force her to watch Ultraviolet. Oh man, that actually seems worse. Well this prompted the lead elf to question the book, and we noticed then that the head elf was Tamier, Lord Esgalion’s squire. He held ill will towards Viktor. Surprisingly little towards Juliet who carried around his lord’s head for about half a month. Dodged a bullet there I guess.
We learned the army was an advance wave that was on route to Sarmanath, but they were quite eager to send us back to suffer the Witch Queen’s wrath. Garret managed to convince Tamier to let us get the Well of Souls however or else Tamier would never have the book, and as such we remained prisoners of the elves for the night. Thank God word doesn’t travel fast about Grae inciting racial riots against the elves or Juliet carrying around lobbed off parts of elven lords. Truth be told for being prisoners things weren’t too bad. It mostly just amounted to spending an evening bound and gagged, and for Juliet that’s nothing new. Hey~Oh!
We woke up, they cut our bonds, and gave us our equipment back—except Lilea who was kept as a hostage. Spoony said in any other situation Juliet would have been the hostage, but fuck that, Juliet ain’t no damsel in distress (well, I guess excluding the two times she’s been taken prisoner, but let’s ignore those). Had he done it you’d have seen Juliet throw down! I’d have gone all bear form and started fighting like they did in the 1920’s. You know, like how the Notre Dame Fighting Irish fights? I’d have gotten myself a novelty oversize cigar and started calling people palooka, and then Captain Bearbossa my awesome bear companion (who totally exists!) would have shown up and we’d have gotten into a rumble, a tussle, a scrap, a box social even! Yeah, who’s the damsel now? Tamier knows he was scared. Punk.
Anyway, we were led due west to the Fiery Plains, though the journey proved difficult for the iron constructs in the army. They continued to get stuck in the crumbling landscape, and many were left behind. The longer we traveled the more casualties the army suffered, so uh… go nature? Before long even Lilea was freed and re-equipped as Tamier, I assume, wanted to give us every advantage. Tamier is kind of stupid though because now he doesn’t have anything to use against us. Oh wait, he still has an army. Crap.
Well we entered the Aberhold Keep which is rumored to be where Galendread’s tower was and thus where we can find the Well of Souls. The castle, predictably, was mostly destroyed but with large stacks of rubble placed curiously around the courtyard. The ground itself was unstable, and the heat was so intense that we’d be asked to make Endurance checks every few hours. So our plan is to be in and out, right? Nah, I think we’re trying to explore the entire castle to give us time to escape. I’ve got a few ideas myself, though truth be told I kinda want to talk to Tamier again. The guy said some things I’m interested in learning more about. S’well, we shall see what happens there. Our adventure ended after an encounter. We came upon a set of steel door beneath one of the corner towers of the castle. We opened the door only to find a room of cobwebs and a creepy laugh not unlike a child. At this point I was booking it towards the exit…
BUT WAIT! Grae is here to save us as he’s already got his bedroll cocked and ready to hurl it into the chamber. It succeeded and the room was lit ablaze, and we promptly shut the doors so we could let our good friend Mr. Fire sort things out. Done and done. Oh wait, they could teleport. That’s right. Yeah, so these fuckers teleport out of the room and then actually proceed to teleport us back into the room, well at least Grae. Poor Grae got manhandled by those creepy mantis things. The rest of us squashed some bugs, and the session ended after Lord Vane killed the last mantis and then my Storm Spike made the bug explode afterwards. I was easy to please by the end of the night.
This was a rollercoaster of a session. Looking by the end when we were slaying bugs and throw burning sleeping bags you’d almost forget that like two days earlier we all spent the night tied half naked to wooden poles. Good times, good times. We’re to play again next week, so stayed tuned for the continuing adventures (and inevitably dehydration of) “TEH GREATEST PARTY EVAR!!!” That’s our name now.
Until next time, Namaste!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
D&D Lessons: Paladin Class Review
Hey there everyone! I promised before that I’d take a look at the different classes in D&D 4E, and found myself slightly delayed in starting this series. Research is difficult as for a great majority of the classes I’ll be relying on theory as opposed to application, and even for the classes I have played I’ve only played them one way. Regardless I’ll try to rate classes on a few factors: Flavor (which those who play for combat can dismiss), Mechanics, and Difficulty. I can’t guarantee how often these articles will come out, but I’ll try to keep them consistent. Forgive me if they get a tad delayed for any reason. And now, onto the show! First up is my favorite D&D class: The Paladin!
Flavor
I find simple to be more appealing when it comes to class flavor. Let individual players adjust the specifics of the role, and don’t pigeon hole them into a certain concept if it can be avoided. Aside from the few martial classes you don’t get much broader than “knight in shining armor” which is probably the most straightforward way to interpret the Paladin. Sure, there’s the religious aspect, but it’s honestly an underplayed part of the character in comparison to past editions where a Paladin had to be Lawful Good or his powers were immediately lost. Now Paladins can play around with morality as they wish, and feel free to worship the Goddesses of Knowledge, Trickery, and Death without any problem. The Paladin is still a very religious class, but gone is the day when a Paladin had to reprimand the thief for pick pocketing—well unless you DM houserules a new system in. Regardless that’s not the intention of the class anymore.
Paladins are a fun archetype. They’re the guys in the big shiny armor wielding overly ornate swords and who have a chip on their shoulder. They’re either rugged warriors of faith, or handsome missionaries, but they still retain their most appealing factor to me—nobility. A Paladin, regardless of deity, is a pious warrior devoted to his code and should do everything in his power to act on his deity’s behalf. That might be Paladin of Ioun questing into a library of demons to retrieve a tome of knowledge, or a much simpler Paladin of Bahamut who stands defiant as a horde of orcs approaches the tiny hamlet. This is why I prefer broad classes. If I want to play something simple, like a Paladin of Pelor who travels the land instilling hope and slaying demons, I easily can. If I decide to play a Paladin of Kord who quests across the land killing anything evil for the challenge, I easily can. And if I even want to play a Paladin of Erathis who quests not necessarily for good, but rather for justice and progress, I just as easily can. Sure some of the more unique gods like the Raven Queen and Sehanine require a bit of justifying for following, but it’s still possible without too much work.
In short the Paladin remains a stable in Dungeons & Dragons and Roleplaying Games alike. If you like to play “the good guy” the Paladin is a pretty solid class to go with, and fills the “combat oriented Divine class” quite well.
Mechanics
Unlike most classes the Paladin doesn’t have a Class Feature to choose that defines the build. All Paladins get access to plate mail and powers like Divine Mettle & Divine Strength, so the aspect of the class that separates the builds is their attribute scores. There are three basic builds that a Paladin can take: Strength-based Paladins focused on big damage and single target elimination (Straladins), Charisma-based Paladins focused on healing, buffing, and mass-marking (Chaladins), and Paladins focused on balancing the two attributes to be a Jack-of-All-Trades, but a Master of None (Baladins).
Now before I get into the strengths and weaknesses of these classes, allow me to explain the marking mechanic unique to the Paladin: Divine Challenge. Well, actually there are two: Divine Challenge and Divine Sanction. Divine Challenge is a power activated with a Minor action that marks the enemy. Should the enemy betray the mark and make an attack that doesn’t include you, then they take scaling (3/6/9) plus CHA-modifier damage under the requirement that you attacked the enemy the round before or ended adjacent to them. What’s nice about this mark is that unlike the Fighter and Warden, you don’t need to spend your Opportunity Action to do this attack, and there’s no attack roll. It might not be as big in terms of damage, but it is definite. Even dazed or stunned your mark will take effect. Even blinded your attack will hit. It’s a reliable threat that enemies always have to be on the lookout for. Divine Sanction is just another version of Divine Challenge that is inflicted via powers, and can often times multi-mark or mark for extended periods of time. Plus it doesn’t require you to engage the enemy, so it can benefit from the oh so beloved “mark and forget” mentality.
Alright, now that we’ve got your main ability straightened out, let’s attack these builds. Curiously enough that’s what Straladins do: Attack. Straladins are powerful characters who focus on dealing with one target at a time and dealing large damage. By taking the feat “Mighty Challenge” you can add your STR-modifier to your DC and DS. You still play like a Defender, and you aren’t as much of a sticky Defender as the Fighter, but you’re still a big threat on the field. You aren’t focused on healing, but Wisdom is a good secondary stat along with Constitution. Getting yourself a good weapon and powers to ensure your target stays with you is essential.
Chaladins play a tad bit differently in that they aren’t as focused on doing big damage. They still lay down the pain of course, but Chaladin’s get alternate roles. They dabble as an off-Leader with a plethora of abilities to throw out healing, temporary hit points, and saving throws. They also possess plenty of abilities to maximize their marking potential with mass marking abilities and other powers dedicated to punishing enemies who betray your mark (not having to spend an Opportunity to use your mark allows you to set up some pretty cool combos). Wisdom is still very important to these characters, and Constitution should be a focus as well (perhaps more if you’d rather be hardy than perceptive).
Baladins are a tough nut to crack. They get the best of both words as they can deal big damage and pick up healing powers as necessary, but the problem is Paladin powers are mostly strictly one way or the other. Either they use Charisma or Strength to attack, and thus you’ll be either taking a majority of powers from one class and thus performing as a slightly less effective version of the Straladin or Chaladin, or you take equal powers from both, but you’ll never reach the full potential of either play style.
The mechanics of the Paladin change radically depending on how you play them, but what I like most is that the Divine Challenge/Divine Sanction system feels unique. There’s a very specific difference between playing the Paladin and playing the Fighter just as there’s a big difference between playing the Straladin and Chaladin.
Difficulty
Okay, so managing Divine Challenge/Divine Sanction might be a bit more complicated than “I mark it, and if it does anything but attack me then I smash it”, but it’s still a fairly simple system once you realize that Divine Sanction is just a simpler version of Divine Challenge. Paladins start off easy to play. You get some of the highest HP totals to start, the highest amount of surges you can get, access to the best armor (Plate) right off the bat, access to military weapons right off the bat, and a class bonus +1 to all NADs. Oh, and real quick your NADs are your Non-AC Defenses (Will, Fortitude, and Reflex), so mind out of the gutter please. Essentially you get huge bonuses to your AC, Health, and Defenses that you don’t have to manage in the slightest. Whether you never get magic armor or take special feats your AC and health will remain high, and thus you make a good Defender.
Now I said before that a good Defender should appear vulnerable in some respect. This is dependent on your DM, but this isn’t something you really have to worry about. Your mass marking and powers will ensure that monsters go after you first without question, and then just watch as most attacks bounce right off your armor. Enjoy the sweet sound of your DM asking if 19 hits your AC at first level and responding with a satisfactory: “Nope”. Again, not much work needs to go into making sure this happens. Paladins are built right from the beginning to be walking tanks of pure holy ass-kicking.
Gameplay wise Chaladins are going to be a bit harder to play than Straladins. Understanding how to get the best out of mass marking powers can be tough, especially when a fantastic one is provided to you at level 1 (Valorous Smite). You might be paralyzed with fear to activate a move that will potentially turn every enemy’s attention to you, but remember that you are a Defender and that is the point of your job. Count on the party’s leader(s) to handle your damages, and worst case scenario you have plenty of health, a high AC, and healing of your own. This class isn’t fully self-sufficient, but truth be told a class with naturally high AC, high damage potential, and healing is about as close as you can get.
More advanced players can enjoy plenty of unique builds like those built around Radiant Abuse (my GOD is Bless Weapon a beastly power for those builds), and others will use a Half-Elf (perfect Chaladins by the way) to get an arcane power so they can abuse the White Lotus Line. Building a Paladin can be easy, but can just as easily be done wrong. The number one mistake first time players will make is to balance Strength and Charisma. Don’t. I know Baladin is a perfectly reasonable option, but it’s not for a first time player. If you’re playing a Paladin for your first character, or for your first Defender, choose Strength or Charisma and stick to it. Spend your other points on Wisdom and Constitution and maybe a few points in Charisma/Strength for Straladins/Chaladins respectively (no more than thirteen to qualify for feats later on). Dexterity is not a major point for you as your AC is already high enough. Intelligence is your dump stat. Sorry, but PALIDUN IS NOT TEH SMRT!
Gameplay wise you shouldn’t have too much trouble, and if you keep most of the tips above in mind you’ll build a fine Paladin. Like most of the Player’s Handbook 1 classes, the Paladin is a good beginner class.
Final Verdict
I love the Paladin. They’re not too hard to play, and played correctly they can perfectly blend Defender with either Striker or Leader without sacrificing their major responsibility: taking the big hits. They’re self-sufficient, unique, but best of all, completely awesome. I’d recommend it for anyone who wants to be “the hero”, or for those that just like being a one man army badass.
Well that’s it for my first Class Review. Hopefully with this lesson you’ll understand the best way to play your champion of holy justice. Next time we get primal and take a look at everyone’s nature loving hippy spell caster: the Druid!
Until next time, Namaste!
Flavor
I find simple to be more appealing when it comes to class flavor. Let individual players adjust the specifics of the role, and don’t pigeon hole them into a certain concept if it can be avoided. Aside from the few martial classes you don’t get much broader than “knight in shining armor” which is probably the most straightforward way to interpret the Paladin. Sure, there’s the religious aspect, but it’s honestly an underplayed part of the character in comparison to past editions where a Paladin had to be Lawful Good or his powers were immediately lost. Now Paladins can play around with morality as they wish, and feel free to worship the Goddesses of Knowledge, Trickery, and Death without any problem. The Paladin is still a very religious class, but gone is the day when a Paladin had to reprimand the thief for pick pocketing—well unless you DM houserules a new system in. Regardless that’s not the intention of the class anymore.
Paladins are a fun archetype. They’re the guys in the big shiny armor wielding overly ornate swords and who have a chip on their shoulder. They’re either rugged warriors of faith, or handsome missionaries, but they still retain their most appealing factor to me—nobility. A Paladin, regardless of deity, is a pious warrior devoted to his code and should do everything in his power to act on his deity’s behalf. That might be Paladin of Ioun questing into a library of demons to retrieve a tome of knowledge, or a much simpler Paladin of Bahamut who stands defiant as a horde of orcs approaches the tiny hamlet. This is why I prefer broad classes. If I want to play something simple, like a Paladin of Pelor who travels the land instilling hope and slaying demons, I easily can. If I decide to play a Paladin of Kord who quests across the land killing anything evil for the challenge, I easily can. And if I even want to play a Paladin of Erathis who quests not necessarily for good, but rather for justice and progress, I just as easily can. Sure some of the more unique gods like the Raven Queen and Sehanine require a bit of justifying for following, but it’s still possible without too much work.
In short the Paladin remains a stable in Dungeons & Dragons and Roleplaying Games alike. If you like to play “the good guy” the Paladin is a pretty solid class to go with, and fills the “combat oriented Divine class” quite well.
Mechanics
Unlike most classes the Paladin doesn’t have a Class Feature to choose that defines the build. All Paladins get access to plate mail and powers like Divine Mettle & Divine Strength, so the aspect of the class that separates the builds is their attribute scores. There are three basic builds that a Paladin can take: Strength-based Paladins focused on big damage and single target elimination (Straladins), Charisma-based Paladins focused on healing, buffing, and mass-marking (Chaladins), and Paladins focused on balancing the two attributes to be a Jack-of-All-Trades, but a Master of None (Baladins).
Now before I get into the strengths and weaknesses of these classes, allow me to explain the marking mechanic unique to the Paladin: Divine Challenge. Well, actually there are two: Divine Challenge and Divine Sanction. Divine Challenge is a power activated with a Minor action that marks the enemy. Should the enemy betray the mark and make an attack that doesn’t include you, then they take scaling (3/6/9) plus CHA-modifier damage under the requirement that you attacked the enemy the round before or ended adjacent to them. What’s nice about this mark is that unlike the Fighter and Warden, you don’t need to spend your Opportunity Action to do this attack, and there’s no attack roll. It might not be as big in terms of damage, but it is definite. Even dazed or stunned your mark will take effect. Even blinded your attack will hit. It’s a reliable threat that enemies always have to be on the lookout for. Divine Sanction is just another version of Divine Challenge that is inflicted via powers, and can often times multi-mark or mark for extended periods of time. Plus it doesn’t require you to engage the enemy, so it can benefit from the oh so beloved “mark and forget” mentality.
Alright, now that we’ve got your main ability straightened out, let’s attack these builds. Curiously enough that’s what Straladins do: Attack. Straladins are powerful characters who focus on dealing with one target at a time and dealing large damage. By taking the feat “Mighty Challenge” you can add your STR-modifier to your DC and DS. You still play like a Defender, and you aren’t as much of a sticky Defender as the Fighter, but you’re still a big threat on the field. You aren’t focused on healing, but Wisdom is a good secondary stat along with Constitution. Getting yourself a good weapon and powers to ensure your target stays with you is essential.
Chaladins play a tad bit differently in that they aren’t as focused on doing big damage. They still lay down the pain of course, but Chaladin’s get alternate roles. They dabble as an off-Leader with a plethora of abilities to throw out healing, temporary hit points, and saving throws. They also possess plenty of abilities to maximize their marking potential with mass marking abilities and other powers dedicated to punishing enemies who betray your mark (not having to spend an Opportunity to use your mark allows you to set up some pretty cool combos). Wisdom is still very important to these characters, and Constitution should be a focus as well (perhaps more if you’d rather be hardy than perceptive).
Baladins are a tough nut to crack. They get the best of both words as they can deal big damage and pick up healing powers as necessary, but the problem is Paladin powers are mostly strictly one way or the other. Either they use Charisma or Strength to attack, and thus you’ll be either taking a majority of powers from one class and thus performing as a slightly less effective version of the Straladin or Chaladin, or you take equal powers from both, but you’ll never reach the full potential of either play style.
The mechanics of the Paladin change radically depending on how you play them, but what I like most is that the Divine Challenge/Divine Sanction system feels unique. There’s a very specific difference between playing the Paladin and playing the Fighter just as there’s a big difference between playing the Straladin and Chaladin.
Difficulty
Okay, so managing Divine Challenge/Divine Sanction might be a bit more complicated than “I mark it, and if it does anything but attack me then I smash it”, but it’s still a fairly simple system once you realize that Divine Sanction is just a simpler version of Divine Challenge. Paladins start off easy to play. You get some of the highest HP totals to start, the highest amount of surges you can get, access to the best armor (Plate) right off the bat, access to military weapons right off the bat, and a class bonus +1 to all NADs. Oh, and real quick your NADs are your Non-AC Defenses (Will, Fortitude, and Reflex), so mind out of the gutter please. Essentially you get huge bonuses to your AC, Health, and Defenses that you don’t have to manage in the slightest. Whether you never get magic armor or take special feats your AC and health will remain high, and thus you make a good Defender.
Now I said before that a good Defender should appear vulnerable in some respect. This is dependent on your DM, but this isn’t something you really have to worry about. Your mass marking and powers will ensure that monsters go after you first without question, and then just watch as most attacks bounce right off your armor. Enjoy the sweet sound of your DM asking if 19 hits your AC at first level and responding with a satisfactory: “Nope”. Again, not much work needs to go into making sure this happens. Paladins are built right from the beginning to be walking tanks of pure holy ass-kicking.
Gameplay wise Chaladins are going to be a bit harder to play than Straladins. Understanding how to get the best out of mass marking powers can be tough, especially when a fantastic one is provided to you at level 1 (Valorous Smite). You might be paralyzed with fear to activate a move that will potentially turn every enemy’s attention to you, but remember that you are a Defender and that is the point of your job. Count on the party’s leader(s) to handle your damages, and worst case scenario you have plenty of health, a high AC, and healing of your own. This class isn’t fully self-sufficient, but truth be told a class with naturally high AC, high damage potential, and healing is about as close as you can get.
More advanced players can enjoy plenty of unique builds like those built around Radiant Abuse (my GOD is Bless Weapon a beastly power for those builds), and others will use a Half-Elf (perfect Chaladins by the way) to get an arcane power so they can abuse the White Lotus Line. Building a Paladin can be easy, but can just as easily be done wrong. The number one mistake first time players will make is to balance Strength and Charisma. Don’t. I know Baladin is a perfectly reasonable option, but it’s not for a first time player. If you’re playing a Paladin for your first character, or for your first Defender, choose Strength or Charisma and stick to it. Spend your other points on Wisdom and Constitution and maybe a few points in Charisma/Strength for Straladins/Chaladins respectively (no more than thirteen to qualify for feats later on). Dexterity is not a major point for you as your AC is already high enough. Intelligence is your dump stat. Sorry, but PALIDUN IS NOT TEH SMRT!
Gameplay wise you shouldn’t have too much trouble, and if you keep most of the tips above in mind you’ll build a fine Paladin. Like most of the Player’s Handbook 1 classes, the Paladin is a good beginner class.
Final Verdict
I love the Paladin. They’re not too hard to play, and played correctly they can perfectly blend Defender with either Striker or Leader without sacrificing their major responsibility: taking the big hits. They’re self-sufficient, unique, but best of all, completely awesome. I’d recommend it for anyone who wants to be “the hero”, or for those that just like being a one man army badass.
Well that’s it for my first Class Review. Hopefully with this lesson you’ll understand the best way to play your champion of holy justice. Next time we get primal and take a look at everyone’s nature loving hippy spell caster: the Druid!
Until next time, Namaste!
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
D&D Log: Session 13
Oh right, I still do these recaps. It’s been a while, so I completely forgot. Truth be told there’s not much to say about this session, but let’s get into it anyway.
So we started our session the night of our big epic one minute fight of hell. Our group met to discuss our plans, and unanimously decided that removing Darstine’s curse was paramount. After the meeting Vane, Juliet, and Garrett agreed in private to not let Darstine be alone, and furthermore to ensure that she doesn’t cast anything out of the book. The next morning we were greeted by Donovan who told us that a movement against the Witch Queen would have to come soon. We were to see Morwaytha to discover a way to defeat the Witch Queen, and to assist us he gave us all one magic item (either +1 piece of armor, or +1 weapon) and a few supplies. Viktor and Juliet left the castle to pick up a few extra supplies and then speak with Father Emmitt regarding resurrecting Lord Vane the First, and while Spoony was impressed with the foresight he couldn’t justify the castle keeping Vane’s body. I got extra RP for roleplaying, but sadly Lord Vane the first is gone for good. Sad, but s’well. Meanwhile in the castle Garrett began to feel a terrible chill as Darstine found herself lost in the Word of Morgana slowly rubbing the cover of the book, and doing other weird cursed people stuff.
Grae demanded this stop, and choose to use his chain to lock the book up! Except he had no padlock. TO THE ARMORY! Yes, we bummed a cruddy lock off the castle to lock up the cursed tome of a demi-goddess who is possessing the party’s Rouge. I repeat, we tried to keep something away from the party’s thief by locking it up with a shitty padlock. DETHKLOK D&D!!! So yeah, we locked up the book, and left the key behind (I want to note that Juliet and Viktor were not there for this. All of these terrible plans were not my idea, and I could do nothing to stop them!), oh and Grae’s master plan was to lock the book in a box with another lock. We’re the people destined to save the world everybody. Weep for your futures.
So after those events we headed off to Ihestas on our new horses. We could have gotten there faster, but Lord Vane asked for a warhorse which is much slower. Douche. Oh, and when he rode up to Morwaytha’s he rode through her turnip patch. Excuse me, I’m still a little baffled at that. I sometimes take a moment to digest such stupidity.
… okay, I’m good.
So we spoke with Morwaytha, and she informed us about the Well of Seals. Actually, the name escapes me, but it’s a diamond of great power that was said to belong to a great Tiefling wizard, Galendread. Galendread’s tower was said to be destroyed during the fall of the Tiefling Empire, but some say the tower still exists and the Well is inside. Our mission is to get the Well as the very power of the gem is said to rip souls from the body. This will help rip Morgana out of Darstine (hopefully), and with luck also seal the Witch Queen. However the location of the tower is to the far east near the Fiery Plains. You guys didn’t get the world description, but basically the Fiery Plains are full of monsters and demons and the Prince of Hell supposed has a castle nearby. In short, we’re in all likelihood boned, but fuck it we’re heroes so let’s ride off to slay evil or something.
We set off from Ihestas after deciding to completely forego the roads and just travel there on the most direct route possible to get there quicker. After two nights we came upon a farm on fire being attacked by mechanical beasts and elves and… we won. And that’s about it. The campaign ended after the combat, and the combat was a majority of the session. With seven people combat gets clunky, so hopefully this group learns to start planning their moves out in advance so that each turn doesn’t take twenty minutes. In the end it was a short session that served to set up our next quest. Our first quest was to destroy the pyramid. Our second quest was to save the king. Our third is apparently to enter hell on earth and achieve the all mystical device of soul plucking. This is going to be interesting.
Until next time, Namaste!
So we started our session the night of our big epic one minute fight of hell. Our group met to discuss our plans, and unanimously decided that removing Darstine’s curse was paramount. After the meeting Vane, Juliet, and Garrett agreed in private to not let Darstine be alone, and furthermore to ensure that she doesn’t cast anything out of the book. The next morning we were greeted by Donovan who told us that a movement against the Witch Queen would have to come soon. We were to see Morwaytha to discover a way to defeat the Witch Queen, and to assist us he gave us all one magic item (either +1 piece of armor, or +1 weapon) and a few supplies. Viktor and Juliet left the castle to pick up a few extra supplies and then speak with Father Emmitt regarding resurrecting Lord Vane the First, and while Spoony was impressed with the foresight he couldn’t justify the castle keeping Vane’s body. I got extra RP for roleplaying, but sadly Lord Vane the first is gone for good. Sad, but s’well. Meanwhile in the castle Garrett began to feel a terrible chill as Darstine found herself lost in the Word of Morgana slowly rubbing the cover of the book, and doing other weird cursed people stuff.
Grae demanded this stop, and choose to use his chain to lock the book up! Except he had no padlock. TO THE ARMORY! Yes, we bummed a cruddy lock off the castle to lock up the cursed tome of a demi-goddess who is possessing the party’s Rouge. I repeat, we tried to keep something away from the party’s thief by locking it up with a shitty padlock. DETHKLOK D&D!!! So yeah, we locked up the book, and left the key behind (I want to note that Juliet and Viktor were not there for this. All of these terrible plans were not my idea, and I could do nothing to stop them!), oh and Grae’s master plan was to lock the book in a box with another lock. We’re the people destined to save the world everybody. Weep for your futures.
So after those events we headed off to Ihestas on our new horses. We could have gotten there faster, but Lord Vane asked for a warhorse which is much slower. Douche. Oh, and when he rode up to Morwaytha’s he rode through her turnip patch. Excuse me, I’m still a little baffled at that. I sometimes take a moment to digest such stupidity.
… okay, I’m good.
So we spoke with Morwaytha, and she informed us about the Well of Seals. Actually, the name escapes me, but it’s a diamond of great power that was said to belong to a great Tiefling wizard, Galendread. Galendread’s tower was said to be destroyed during the fall of the Tiefling Empire, but some say the tower still exists and the Well is inside. Our mission is to get the Well as the very power of the gem is said to rip souls from the body. This will help rip Morgana out of Darstine (hopefully), and with luck also seal the Witch Queen. However the location of the tower is to the far east near the Fiery Plains. You guys didn’t get the world description, but basically the Fiery Plains are full of monsters and demons and the Prince of Hell supposed has a castle nearby. In short, we’re in all likelihood boned, but fuck it we’re heroes so let’s ride off to slay evil or something.
We set off from Ihestas after deciding to completely forego the roads and just travel there on the most direct route possible to get there quicker. After two nights we came upon a farm on fire being attacked by mechanical beasts and elves and… we won. And that’s about it. The campaign ended after the combat, and the combat was a majority of the session. With seven people combat gets clunky, so hopefully this group learns to start planning their moves out in advance so that each turn doesn’t take twenty minutes. In the end it was a short session that served to set up our next quest. Our first quest was to destroy the pyramid. Our second quest was to save the king. Our third is apparently to enter hell on earth and achieve the all mystical device of soul plucking. This is going to be interesting.
Until next time, Namaste!
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Friday, September 3, 2010
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