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.
Showing posts with label DnD Lessons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DnD Lessons. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 29, 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!
Friday, August 27, 2010
D&D Lessons: How to Play the Defender
Alright, it’s time to finish off my D&D roles guide with a look at my favorite role: the Defender. Why is it my favorite role? Well, allow me to return back to the earlier football comparison I made with the Striker. While the Striker is the Wide Receiver/Runningback who everyone buys jerseys for and the Leader is the Quarterback that everyone knows is the face of the team, and the Defenders are the linemen who are often times neglected by even fans of their own team.. It’s a thankless job, but a necessary one. Without a good line a quarterback can’t get the ball off, and a runningback can’t break out into the field. That’s the Defender in a nutshell. Remove the football analogy and the job still remains the same: take a beating so your team doesn’t have to.
A Defender might be a very difficult job for people to understand as people hear “Defender” and think “Tank”. It’s not that cut and dry, and truth be told a Defender will be played differently depending on your DM, but I’ll get to that in a bit. The thing that makes each Defender unique is that they all have a mark. Now a mark is something plenty of classes (and monsters) can do, and on the surface it’s a simple -2 penalty to attack anyone else but the person who marked you until the mark ends. However each Defender has their own unique way to mark, and their own unique way of punishing a mark so that it’s actually threatening to disobey. See, that’s the key to a Defender: being threatening. A monster has to actively fear what you can do for a mark to be effective causing perhaps the most unique class feature in the game. This is a power you never want to activate. Yes that’s right you have super cool punishing powers designed to lay big damage down on the enemy, and you don’t ever want them to be used. The reason being that if they violate your mark that normally means they’re going after one of your teammates, and it’s your job to prevent that as much as possible.
A Defender is a tough role to play especially considering your DM. On one hand a DM may honor your mark in almost all situations meaning building a good Defender is easy, however some DMs will play monsters with a tad bit more intelligence. See a monster will realize when it’s futile to continue attacking someone who isn’t reacting to it, and will usually try to find someone else to beat on—afterall there’s little point in fighting a battle you almost statistically can’t win. This means that you can’t just build a Defender with super high defenses and HP who sits there and takes punishment. Realistically you want monsters to hit you. This sounds crazy, but trust me, you do. Every moment a monster hits you is a round they’re not hitting your allies. It might not be fun to be the guy getting wailed on, but that’s what a Defender is. They’re the tough sons of bitches that can actually survive said beatings.
I suppose I should mention the elephant in the room and talk about how you’re going to die… a lot. Well, actually you’re not going to die, but you probably will drop to 0 HP and pass out every so often. This isn’t as bad as it sounds as you’ll often have a Leader ready to save you, but to be honest some Defenders actually take falling in combat as a sign of honor. It’s like a battlescar—proof you were there, did your job, and lived to tell about it. Now your goal isn’t to die in every encounter of course, but the thing to note is that it’s going to happen. Some of you pansy, squimish types might grimace at this thought, but look at it like this. You know that fiery ball of hellfire that crit you and took you from bloodied to – 5? Yeah, think about what would have had happened had that attack hit your squishy wizard or your fragile thief. Such a strike would turn them into mushed paste oon the ground. That’s what you prevent everytime you get hit. That’s –why- you want to get hit! Again, I know it seems like a weird style of gameplay to sit tight and take attacks, but truly that’s the job of a Defender. If fighting like a man isn’t what you want to do, then roll up a Striker. This isn’t the role for the weak of heart.
So what tools does a Defender have that makes them effective? Well each Defender has a particular way of marking, and a method of playing that either makes them sticky (or in the case of the Swordmage; not sticky), or makes it so enemies are drawn to them. Let’s look at the Warden. The Warden is considered by many to be the best class at surviving with their high HP and ability to roll saving rolls at the beginning and end of their turn. Their method of marking is an automatic mark on anyone adjacent to them, so they’re not too tough to play, however their punishment is less than impressive. However Wardens are incredibly hard to get away from with their powers that pull enemies in and their famous Level 1 Daily “Form of Winter’s Herald” which makes them nearly impossible to escape from. On the inverse look at the Paladin. They have almost no way of keeping enemies next to them. No pulling powers, no abilities to attack enemies who try to get away, etc. However, no class is better at marking tons of enemies at once. Heck, a Level 1 Encounter power has the ability to mark all enemies within three squares of them for a turn. That’s only one of many powers a Paladin has to dominate the battlefield by forcing enemies to stay with him, or betray his mark.
Since Defender is the smallest role (in terms of available classes) I’ll actually try to explain the other roles more so you guys understand how the classes work. Fighter’s are the Striker Defender. They deal big damage, and they are the best Defender. I know it’s tough to say any class is “best” at their job, but truth be told a Fighter will normally be more effective than a Paladin or Warden. This isn’t to say don’t look at other classes, but simply put Fighters are monsters. A Fighter’s mark is the only mark that will be betrayed that you actually be happy about as they get to lay down the hurt whenever the enemy so much as shits their pants wrong. Save for ending their turn doing nothing or attacking the Fighter, there’s almost nothing an enemy can do to escape the Fighter without the Fighter attacking, and some Fighter Builds can even stop the enemy’s movement should they hit. Damn.
Swordmages are different depending on which aspect you take: Assault, Shielding, or Ensnaring. Each plays very differently from one another, so this choice will define how you play the role. Assault and Ensnaring are the closest, yet polar opposites. Both activate when an opponent attacks one of your allies, but Assault teleports you to the enemy while Ensnaring teleports the opponent to you. Both are good, though Ensaring keeps you sticky while Assault is best when your DM often betrays marks. Shielding however is right up there with Fighter as best Defender as her power is very simple. Mark enemy, and run away. Yeah, run away. See a Swordmage is at her best when the enemy has to chase her down every time the enemy attacks someone not marked by a Shielding Swordmage the damage they take is reduced by the Swordmage’s Constitution. This is the best example of mark and forget, and again, you want to leave your mark alone. Even if it does attack the opponent its damage won’t be very significant, and more than likely the monster will take some time tracking you down. A great Defender.
Last is the Battlemind which is the newest Defender, and thus the most underpowered. Many Battlemind problems are fixed including the Battlemind’s Blurred Step which is a class feature that allows the Battlemind to follow along with any marked foe that has shifted away from him. More than that they have the dreaded Mind Spike which causes an enemy to take damage equal to that it inflicts while it is adjacent to a Battlemind that has marked it. One aspect even has a nifty special power that lets it move before initiative which is pretty awesome.
Playing a Defender requires a mindset like many roles. You shouldn’t think “I have a lot of health and my AC is high”. You need to think “How can I keep that monster from attacking my allies”. You’re a self-sacrificing character, and yeah, people might not remember your exploits, but take solace in the fact that if your allies are around afterwards then you did your job.
The Defender role includes the Fighter, Paladin, Warden, Swordmage, and Battlemind classes. When Heroes of Shadow comes out in March of next year, it is rumored that the Hexblade class will also be a Defender. That wraps it up for my look at the roles, but I’m not done here. My next plan is to start looking at each class individually to help people see the positive and negatives to the classes. Also I’m always around to help with any other questions you guys might have, so never hesitate to ask! Until next time when I return with my look at the Paladin class, Namaste!
A Defender might be a very difficult job for people to understand as people hear “Defender” and think “Tank”. It’s not that cut and dry, and truth be told a Defender will be played differently depending on your DM, but I’ll get to that in a bit. The thing that makes each Defender unique is that they all have a mark. Now a mark is something plenty of classes (and monsters) can do, and on the surface it’s a simple -2 penalty to attack anyone else but the person who marked you until the mark ends. However each Defender has their own unique way to mark, and their own unique way of punishing a mark so that it’s actually threatening to disobey. See, that’s the key to a Defender: being threatening. A monster has to actively fear what you can do for a mark to be effective causing perhaps the most unique class feature in the game. This is a power you never want to activate. Yes that’s right you have super cool punishing powers designed to lay big damage down on the enemy, and you don’t ever want them to be used. The reason being that if they violate your mark that normally means they’re going after one of your teammates, and it’s your job to prevent that as much as possible.
A Defender is a tough role to play especially considering your DM. On one hand a DM may honor your mark in almost all situations meaning building a good Defender is easy, however some DMs will play monsters with a tad bit more intelligence. See a monster will realize when it’s futile to continue attacking someone who isn’t reacting to it, and will usually try to find someone else to beat on—afterall there’s little point in fighting a battle you almost statistically can’t win. This means that you can’t just build a Defender with super high defenses and HP who sits there and takes punishment. Realistically you want monsters to hit you. This sounds crazy, but trust me, you do. Every moment a monster hits you is a round they’re not hitting your allies. It might not be fun to be the guy getting wailed on, but that’s what a Defender is. They’re the tough sons of bitches that can actually survive said beatings.
I suppose I should mention the elephant in the room and talk about how you’re going to die… a lot. Well, actually you’re not going to die, but you probably will drop to 0 HP and pass out every so often. This isn’t as bad as it sounds as you’ll often have a Leader ready to save you, but to be honest some Defenders actually take falling in combat as a sign of honor. It’s like a battlescar—proof you were there, did your job, and lived to tell about it. Now your goal isn’t to die in every encounter of course, but the thing to note is that it’s going to happen. Some of you pansy, squimish types might grimace at this thought, but look at it like this. You know that fiery ball of hellfire that crit you and took you from bloodied to – 5? Yeah, think about what would have had happened had that attack hit your squishy wizard or your fragile thief. Such a strike would turn them into mushed paste oon the ground. That’s what you prevent everytime you get hit. That’s –why- you want to get hit! Again, I know it seems like a weird style of gameplay to sit tight and take attacks, but truly that’s the job of a Defender. If fighting like a man isn’t what you want to do, then roll up a Striker. This isn’t the role for the weak of heart.
So what tools does a Defender have that makes them effective? Well each Defender has a particular way of marking, and a method of playing that either makes them sticky (or in the case of the Swordmage; not sticky), or makes it so enemies are drawn to them. Let’s look at the Warden. The Warden is considered by many to be the best class at surviving with their high HP and ability to roll saving rolls at the beginning and end of their turn. Their method of marking is an automatic mark on anyone adjacent to them, so they’re not too tough to play, however their punishment is less than impressive. However Wardens are incredibly hard to get away from with their powers that pull enemies in and their famous Level 1 Daily “Form of Winter’s Herald” which makes them nearly impossible to escape from. On the inverse look at the Paladin. They have almost no way of keeping enemies next to them. No pulling powers, no abilities to attack enemies who try to get away, etc. However, no class is better at marking tons of enemies at once. Heck, a Level 1 Encounter power has the ability to mark all enemies within three squares of them for a turn. That’s only one of many powers a Paladin has to dominate the battlefield by forcing enemies to stay with him, or betray his mark.
Since Defender is the smallest role (in terms of available classes) I’ll actually try to explain the other roles more so you guys understand how the classes work. Fighter’s are the Striker Defender. They deal big damage, and they are the best Defender. I know it’s tough to say any class is “best” at their job, but truth be told a Fighter will normally be more effective than a Paladin or Warden. This isn’t to say don’t look at other classes, but simply put Fighters are monsters. A Fighter’s mark is the only mark that will be betrayed that you actually be happy about as they get to lay down the hurt whenever the enemy so much as shits their pants wrong. Save for ending their turn doing nothing or attacking the Fighter, there’s almost nothing an enemy can do to escape the Fighter without the Fighter attacking, and some Fighter Builds can even stop the enemy’s movement should they hit. Damn.
Swordmages are different depending on which aspect you take: Assault, Shielding, or Ensnaring. Each plays very differently from one another, so this choice will define how you play the role. Assault and Ensnaring are the closest, yet polar opposites. Both activate when an opponent attacks one of your allies, but Assault teleports you to the enemy while Ensnaring teleports the opponent to you. Both are good, though Ensaring keeps you sticky while Assault is best when your DM often betrays marks. Shielding however is right up there with Fighter as best Defender as her power is very simple. Mark enemy, and run away. Yeah, run away. See a Swordmage is at her best when the enemy has to chase her down every time the enemy attacks someone not marked by a Shielding Swordmage the damage they take is reduced by the Swordmage’s Constitution. This is the best example of mark and forget, and again, you want to leave your mark alone. Even if it does attack the opponent its damage won’t be very significant, and more than likely the monster will take some time tracking you down. A great Defender.
Last is the Battlemind which is the newest Defender, and thus the most underpowered. Many Battlemind problems are fixed including the Battlemind’s Blurred Step which is a class feature that allows the Battlemind to follow along with any marked foe that has shifted away from him. More than that they have the dreaded Mind Spike which causes an enemy to take damage equal to that it inflicts while it is adjacent to a Battlemind that has marked it. One aspect even has a nifty special power that lets it move before initiative which is pretty awesome.
Playing a Defender requires a mindset like many roles. You shouldn’t think “I have a lot of health and my AC is high”. You need to think “How can I keep that monster from attacking my allies”. You’re a self-sacrificing character, and yeah, people might not remember your exploits, but take solace in the fact that if your allies are around afterwards then you did your job.
The Defender role includes the Fighter, Paladin, Warden, Swordmage, and Battlemind classes. When Heroes of Shadow comes out in March of next year, it is rumored that the Hexblade class will also be a Defender. That wraps it up for my look at the roles, but I’m not done here. My next plan is to start looking at each class individually to help people see the positive and negatives to the classes. Also I’m always around to help with any other questions you guys might have, so never hesitate to ask! Until next time when I return with my look at the Paladin class, Namaste!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
D&D Lessons: How to Play the Leader
With 4E D&D the “roles” are essentially reimagining of classic MMORPG classes. The Defender is the Tank, the Striker is the DPS, and the Leader is the Healer. At least that’s how it appears. Afterall when each class under the role has a feature that allow them to heal their allies, it’s hard not to group them under a single banner, but in truth the Leader is far more than a “healbot”. Healing is a big aspect of them, yes, but they also buff your allies, reposition the battlefield, and enable your allies to make extra attacks at no expense. These guys are the inverse of the Controller. Where the Controllers job was to make sure the enemies lose, it’s the Leaders job to make sure your allies win.
The Leader class is pretty diverse while still remaining fairly grounded in a particular mold, which helps make them perhaps the most unique role in D&D 4E. Were most classes are separated by mechanics and how powers work, a Leader is defined by what particular aspect of a Leader they’re most skilled at. For example, Clerics are by and large the best healing Leaders while Warlords are the best at allowing allies extra attacks. Runepriests are great at buffs, Bards at repositioning, so on and so forth. Point is that a Leader can become perhaps the most customizable part of the party. Say you have a group together and you have a Seeker, a Sorcerer, and a Fighter. With that set up you’d likely want to build an Eagle Shaman or a Bow Warlord who are skilled at granting Ranged Basic Attacks (something your Seeker and Sorcerer will love you for). Alternatively let’s say your party is a Rogue, a Shielding Swordmage, and an Invoker. You’d probably want to play a Bard so you could help reposition your Rogue for combat advantage while helping to move your allies out of the range of the Invoker’s area burst effects. Point is that the composition of your party has the largest impact of which leader will be most effective in your group, so for the player who likes to make his character the perfect fit for the party, Leader is often the way to go.
It’s been noted that a team can survive without each role being filled. A team can live without a Striker, but it just needs good defense as fights will go on longer. A team can survive without a Defender, but they’ll need to cautious about their weaker characters being targeted. However there’s no real substitute for the Leader, and the role might very well be the most essential part to any party. I’d dare say a group without a Leader has little to no chance at lasting without a TPK. So why all the Leader praise? Simply put: Leaders will save your ass. This isn’t opinion; this is fact. There will be a moment when your caster will get surrounded, and it’ll be your Leader who slides him out of danger. There will be a moment when your Defender will take one too many blows and drop to single digits, and it will be your Leader who heals her back to almost full health in just a single turn. Leaders, simply put, keep you alive. They won’t be the ones laying the killing blow on the archdemon, but that’s not their job. Their job is to keep you doing your job.
So how does one play a Leader? It’s not as tough as you’d imagine as long as you keep one thing in mind when picking powers: will this help out my team? As a Warlord you have to think: “Will this power enable my allies more?” It’s easy to look at a power, see it does 4d[W] and marry the power, but that’s not who you are. Instead grab the power that’s only 2d[W] but instead gives allies defensive bonuses for the rest of the encounter, or free healing when they attack a particular monster. When building a Leader you must remain selfless and realize that your job is to make sure everyone performs better. The damage you do is fine so instead focus on the stuff that only you can do. It might require you to sacrifice some really awesome powers, and even take powers that transfer your actions to others, but remember that the job of a Leader is to keep his team playing at their top efficiency. You are the team’s MVP. Losing you is like losing their future. In that respect remember that everyone is going to do their best to make sure you can do your job the best. Controllers will keep enemies locked down and Defenders will keep them occupied. Concern yourself with how best to help your team, and you’ll work out.
Playing a Leader requires a state of mind where the battle is never out of grasp. If you think of your character like a healer, you’ll never get in the right mindset, and that’s essential for playing the role. Don’t think of yourself as some wimpy guy handing out medicine—think of yourself as a general who’s leading the battle. The very essence of the battlefield is shaped by your abilities. For Bards it’s your deceptive magics that throws enemies around. For the Shaman it’s the spirits of the wild whispering orders that change the future of the battle. And my personal favorite, the Warlord who literally commands his soldiers to move and keep fighting just by sheer authority. The Leader isn’t the medic in an army, they’re the General. They see a battle and only see victory. Keep your mind focused on the battle at hand, and no challenge will stop your elite force. Keep your unit alive and fighting at full strength and there’s not a force on this planet able to stop your team.
The Leader role includes the Cleric, Warlord, Bard, Shaman, Ardent, Runepriest, and Artificer. Next time I’ll close off my look on how to play the roles with a look at my favorite role: The Defender. Until next time. Namaste!
The Leader class is pretty diverse while still remaining fairly grounded in a particular mold, which helps make them perhaps the most unique role in D&D 4E. Were most classes are separated by mechanics and how powers work, a Leader is defined by what particular aspect of a Leader they’re most skilled at. For example, Clerics are by and large the best healing Leaders while Warlords are the best at allowing allies extra attacks. Runepriests are great at buffs, Bards at repositioning, so on and so forth. Point is that a Leader can become perhaps the most customizable part of the party. Say you have a group together and you have a Seeker, a Sorcerer, and a Fighter. With that set up you’d likely want to build an Eagle Shaman or a Bow Warlord who are skilled at granting Ranged Basic Attacks (something your Seeker and Sorcerer will love you for). Alternatively let’s say your party is a Rogue, a Shielding Swordmage, and an Invoker. You’d probably want to play a Bard so you could help reposition your Rogue for combat advantage while helping to move your allies out of the range of the Invoker’s area burst effects. Point is that the composition of your party has the largest impact of which leader will be most effective in your group, so for the player who likes to make his character the perfect fit for the party, Leader is often the way to go.
It’s been noted that a team can survive without each role being filled. A team can live without a Striker, but it just needs good defense as fights will go on longer. A team can survive without a Defender, but they’ll need to cautious about their weaker characters being targeted. However there’s no real substitute for the Leader, and the role might very well be the most essential part to any party. I’d dare say a group without a Leader has little to no chance at lasting without a TPK. So why all the Leader praise? Simply put: Leaders will save your ass. This isn’t opinion; this is fact. There will be a moment when your caster will get surrounded, and it’ll be your Leader who slides him out of danger. There will be a moment when your Defender will take one too many blows and drop to single digits, and it will be your Leader who heals her back to almost full health in just a single turn. Leaders, simply put, keep you alive. They won’t be the ones laying the killing blow on the archdemon, but that’s not their job. Their job is to keep you doing your job.
So how does one play a Leader? It’s not as tough as you’d imagine as long as you keep one thing in mind when picking powers: will this help out my team? As a Warlord you have to think: “Will this power enable my allies more?” It’s easy to look at a power, see it does 4d[W] and marry the power, but that’s not who you are. Instead grab the power that’s only 2d[W] but instead gives allies defensive bonuses for the rest of the encounter, or free healing when they attack a particular monster. When building a Leader you must remain selfless and realize that your job is to make sure everyone performs better. The damage you do is fine so instead focus on the stuff that only you can do. It might require you to sacrifice some really awesome powers, and even take powers that transfer your actions to others, but remember that the job of a Leader is to keep his team playing at their top efficiency. You are the team’s MVP. Losing you is like losing their future. In that respect remember that everyone is going to do their best to make sure you can do your job the best. Controllers will keep enemies locked down and Defenders will keep them occupied. Concern yourself with how best to help your team, and you’ll work out.
Playing a Leader requires a state of mind where the battle is never out of grasp. If you think of your character like a healer, you’ll never get in the right mindset, and that’s essential for playing the role. Don’t think of yourself as some wimpy guy handing out medicine—think of yourself as a general who’s leading the battle. The very essence of the battlefield is shaped by your abilities. For Bards it’s your deceptive magics that throws enemies around. For the Shaman it’s the spirits of the wild whispering orders that change the future of the battle. And my personal favorite, the Warlord who literally commands his soldiers to move and keep fighting just by sheer authority. The Leader isn’t the medic in an army, they’re the General. They see a battle and only see victory. Keep your mind focused on the battle at hand, and no challenge will stop your elite force. Keep your unit alive and fighting at full strength and there’s not a force on this planet able to stop your team.
The Leader role includes the Cleric, Warlord, Bard, Shaman, Ardent, Runepriest, and Artificer. Next time I’ll close off my look on how to play the roles with a look at my favorite role: The Defender. Until next time. Namaste!
Friday, August 13, 2010
D&D Lessons: How to Play the Striker
D&D 4E doesn’t have as stiff of a learning curve as past editions. With the exception of Controllers and maybe a few Leaders (i.e. Warlord), it’s not hard to pick up a class and use it well. Of course with min/maxing there’s always the idea of playing a class wrong, or not to its fullest potential. There’s an entire group of people out there who will condemn you for creating a Strength based Paladin who doesn’t have the Mighty Challenge feat, or creating a Warden that doesn’t use a weapon with reach. However there’s one role that you just can’t muck up. It’s the simplest role in the game so straightforward that you could put a monkey in the job and feel assured that you’re in good hands. This is the Striker role, and the only way to botch this job is to literally pass your turn every time it comes up. Why’s this role so easy? It’s because your job is very simple: Kill things dead.
Now every class in D&D has been min maxed to death and people out there have found ways to do 20 damage a turn At-Will, without the expense of encounter or daily powers at level 1. You don’t have to do that, and honestly I’d recommend against it. The fact is that everything you need to succeed is built right into the class. If you’re new to D&D and skeptical on how to play the game, I’d recommend a Striker.
From the above you might assume the Striker is the “dumb” role for players not of the mental conditioning to play one of the big boy roles, but it’s not. It’s just that the Striker is very basic in its job, so a new player doesn’t have to worry about building or playing the class wrong. With a Defender you have to worry about making yourself too strong, or making sure your mark is a threat, and Controllers are a headache all in their own, but a Striker is a simpler breed of character only concerned with dealing massive damage, and doing it as frequently as possible.
So, how do you play a Striker? Well, as I said, everything is built right into the class. Each Striker class has a particular way of dealing higher amounts of damage than other classes built right into Class Features like the Ranger’s Hunter’s Quarry, or the Assassin’s Shrouds. These are just parts of the class that only require you to be aware of them to be effective. The main problem people run into with this role is they think simple, or easy. Sort of like when you play Wolfenstein 3D and the mode above Normal was “Can I Play Too, Daddy?” It’s not a role for idiots, and it’s not “the easy way out”. The Striker has a very important role and if they fail to do it then it makes life a lot harder for the Leaders and Defenders in your party. No, the thing that makes Strikers appealing to new players is that it is very hard to screw up said job.
In addition it should be noted that Striker’s have the most noticeable effect on combat. You might not notice the Defender who absorbed the golem’s most powerful attacks for five rounds, but you will always remember the Sorcerer who threw a bolt of lightning that hit for 47 damage. If it were football, these would be the Wide Receivers and Runningbacks. They make it on the highlight reel, and they make the big bucks, but without the other players to support them, those plays never happen. Never forget the Quarterback/Leader who gave you the support necessary to make a play. Don’t ignore the Defenders/Linemen who held the line long enough for you to pull off your moment of glory. And as hard as it is, always remember the Coaches/Controllers who neutralized your biggest threats before they ever happened. Point is, it’s easy to see your Striker as the most important part of the party, but the truth is that your just one part of the game.
Now pulling off the Striker role effectively is easy as noted above. There are a few things to keep in mind however. First, Strikers are for the most part squishy archers or spell casters who don’t have any right standing in the front line alongside your beefier heroes. Heck, even the bulky Barbarian is seen in media wearing little more than a loincloth, so he doesn’t automatically deserve a place fighting alongside the guys decked out in Scale and Platemail. AC is not your forte, and HP even less so. It’s not uncommon to see a Striker start with 20 – 25 HP at 1st level, and if your AC is a 16 then you shouldn’t be the one risking your ass in the front lines. Learn to sit back and so what you do from afar. Let the Defenders take point and take the abuse. All you need to concern yourself with is dropping enemies fast, and that’s the best way you can help them. In addition staying out of combat is helpful since you stand less of a chance of taking a harpoon in the face and requiring a heal from your Leader’s limited supplies. Playing a Striker also means knowing what the biggest threats on the battlefield are. Most Strikers should avoid wasting time on Minions as much as possible (that’s the Controller’s job), and they should really focus on the deadliest enemy. One strategy is to look for the squishiest thing and pummel it into paste, then worry about the big things later, but most enemies are built to avoid that. Just do what you can to rip through the enemy’s ranks as quickly as possible, and try to set up potential combos with your allies. For example, don’t drop your Daily at the start of the fight. Wait until your Controller can stun or force the foe to grant combat advantage, or wait for your Leader to drop a big buff. Try to synergize easily with what your party can provide. You’re basic, but that doesn’t make you one-note.
D&D is a complex game, but at the same time, one that you can be more than content in if you keep it simple. Leave optimizing for those who want it, and just play something you think will be fun. Your best bet? Play a Striker.
The Striker class includes the Ranger, the Rouge, the Warlock, the Barbarian, the Sorcerer, the Monk, the Avenger, and the Assassin. With that many options first time players should really feel free to double or triple up on this role as many Strikers dabble in another role anyway. Next time I’ll talk about Leaders and how they’re much more than “healbots” as many might believe.
Now every class in D&D has been min maxed to death and people out there have found ways to do 20 damage a turn At-Will, without the expense of encounter or daily powers at level 1. You don’t have to do that, and honestly I’d recommend against it. The fact is that everything you need to succeed is built right into the class. If you’re new to D&D and skeptical on how to play the game, I’d recommend a Striker.
From the above you might assume the Striker is the “dumb” role for players not of the mental conditioning to play one of the big boy roles, but it’s not. It’s just that the Striker is very basic in its job, so a new player doesn’t have to worry about building or playing the class wrong. With a Defender you have to worry about making yourself too strong, or making sure your mark is a threat, and Controllers are a headache all in their own, but a Striker is a simpler breed of character only concerned with dealing massive damage, and doing it as frequently as possible.
So, how do you play a Striker? Well, as I said, everything is built right into the class. Each Striker class has a particular way of dealing higher amounts of damage than other classes built right into Class Features like the Ranger’s Hunter’s Quarry, or the Assassin’s Shrouds. These are just parts of the class that only require you to be aware of them to be effective. The main problem people run into with this role is they think simple, or easy. Sort of like when you play Wolfenstein 3D and the mode above Normal was “Can I Play Too, Daddy?” It’s not a role for idiots, and it’s not “the easy way out”. The Striker has a very important role and if they fail to do it then it makes life a lot harder for the Leaders and Defenders in your party. No, the thing that makes Strikers appealing to new players is that it is very hard to screw up said job.
In addition it should be noted that Striker’s have the most noticeable effect on combat. You might not notice the Defender who absorbed the golem’s most powerful attacks for five rounds, but you will always remember the Sorcerer who threw a bolt of lightning that hit for 47 damage. If it were football, these would be the Wide Receivers and Runningbacks. They make it on the highlight reel, and they make the big bucks, but without the other players to support them, those plays never happen. Never forget the Quarterback/Leader who gave you the support necessary to make a play. Don’t ignore the Defenders/Linemen who held the line long enough for you to pull off your moment of glory. And as hard as it is, always remember the Coaches/Controllers who neutralized your biggest threats before they ever happened. Point is, it’s easy to see your Striker as the most important part of the party, but the truth is that your just one part of the game.
Now pulling off the Striker role effectively is easy as noted above. There are a few things to keep in mind however. First, Strikers are for the most part squishy archers or spell casters who don’t have any right standing in the front line alongside your beefier heroes. Heck, even the bulky Barbarian is seen in media wearing little more than a loincloth, so he doesn’t automatically deserve a place fighting alongside the guys decked out in Scale and Platemail. AC is not your forte, and HP even less so. It’s not uncommon to see a Striker start with 20 – 25 HP at 1st level, and if your AC is a 16 then you shouldn’t be the one risking your ass in the front lines. Learn to sit back and so what you do from afar. Let the Defenders take point and take the abuse. All you need to concern yourself with is dropping enemies fast, and that’s the best way you can help them. In addition staying out of combat is helpful since you stand less of a chance of taking a harpoon in the face and requiring a heal from your Leader’s limited supplies. Playing a Striker also means knowing what the biggest threats on the battlefield are. Most Strikers should avoid wasting time on Minions as much as possible (that’s the Controller’s job), and they should really focus on the deadliest enemy. One strategy is to look for the squishiest thing and pummel it into paste, then worry about the big things later, but most enemies are built to avoid that. Just do what you can to rip through the enemy’s ranks as quickly as possible, and try to set up potential combos with your allies. For example, don’t drop your Daily at the start of the fight. Wait until your Controller can stun or force the foe to grant combat advantage, or wait for your Leader to drop a big buff. Try to synergize easily with what your party can provide. You’re basic, but that doesn’t make you one-note.
D&D is a complex game, but at the same time, one that you can be more than content in if you keep it simple. Leave optimizing for those who want it, and just play something you think will be fun. Your best bet? Play a Striker.
The Striker class includes the Ranger, the Rouge, the Warlock, the Barbarian, the Sorcerer, the Monk, the Avenger, and the Assassin. With that many options first time players should really feel free to double or triple up on this role as many Strikers dabble in another role anyway. Next time I’ll talk about Leaders and how they’re much more than “healbots” as many might believe.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
D&D Lessons: How to Play the Controller
In my goal to help teach people how to play 4E D&D I wanted to get more in depth with the roles as those are probably the biggest gameplay change from prior editions. Focusing on making sure a party can accomplish each job is tough, more so if you can’t understand what the class’ job is. However it’s not as hard as you think, and in my mind each role has a one sentence description of what their job is that should make playing them easier to do. I want to start this first lesson off with perhaps the most difficult role to understand: The Controller.
The Controller is by far the hardest role to completely understand, and easily the most difficult to play effectively. I’ll be honest when I say I know I don’t play a Controller perfectly. Fact is, it’s a tough role to play, and many groups can survive just fine without one, yet at the same time having a good Controller could completely change the way a battle is fought. As I said, each role has a clear goal that defines their job, and the Controller’s is thus: Make sure your opponents can’t win.
On the surface that feels vague and confusing, but think of it like Final Fantasy for a moment. Strikers are the Black Mages of the game; squishy and vulnerable but absolute offensive monsters. Leaders are your White Mage mixed with a little Red Mage. They heal, buff, and in general play a versatile role suited to keeping the party moving. Your Defender is the Warrior; good damage, and the guy in the front line absorbing most of the damage. Controllers are then the Green Mages, casting debuffs and inflicting horrible status effects that impair and restrict the enemy at every turn. If you think of the Controller in that respect it’s a bit easier to understand your role, but let’s make it even simpler.
If the DM decides to have monsters do something. It’s your job to say “No”.
Controllers are the DM headache, and that’s intentional. The job of a Controller is just that: to control. Things like forced movement or slowing, those are things almost all classes can do, but the way a Controller does it is different. Let’s look shifting. Plenty classes have a way to shift the opponent. Most have them as Encounter or Class Features, but there are a few that aren’t Controllers that can do it At-Will. That means on your turn you can slide the opponent. Helpful right? Unlike the Defender’s Mark or the Striker’s extra damage the forced movement isn’t something restrictive to Controllers. However they can do it in a way completely unique. For example, the Druid has an At-Will power called Savage Rend that slides the enemy once on a hit. This power works as a Melee Basic Attack, meaning that it can be used for Opportunity Attacks. This means that if your Druid is engaged with the enemy, and they try to run away, you can pull them right back with a hit. That’s an example of controlling. It’s basically saying “no” when the DM attempts something.
What separates Controllers from the other role isn’t in a class feature like the other roles, but rather their Encounter and Daily powers having game changing effects. Their Dailies, in particular, are known for being devastating. Yes, all Dailies are intended to change a battle, but not on the scale of a Controller’s. Returning to the Druid (which I will often since well, Juliet…) there’s a Level 1 Daily known as Faerie Fire. Shitty name yes, but powerful. If you’ve been following our D&D exploits since they first started, you saw this power in effect. I hit it on the Spider Queen, and for the duration of the encounter she suffered from granting combat advantage to everybody. That meant every attack gave an automatic +2 bonus to hit, and our Rouge got her Sneak Attack damage. Had that attack not hit, our party might not have survived.
Of course you can say that about a lot of factors in a battle. The idea isn’t: a Controller will save the battle. Rather, it’s that a Controller’s actions will change the battle. Let’s look at a Seeker Encounter power known as Feyjump Shot. The power reads that you fire two attacks on two enemies. If only one attack hits you teleport the enemy a few squares. Decent, but if you hit with both, you are given the option of switching the two targets. So imagine it, your Fighter and Barbarian are locked up against a Brute while an Artillery Monster tears you apart from afar. If this attack connects, BAMF, your brute is now out of combat and will likely have to spend a turn just to get back into it and that precious squishy artillery unit is now sandwiched between a greataxe and a bastard sword. That’s the effect a Controller has on a battle.
But a Controller is really a thankless position due to its difficulty. The fact is, your best powers are one shot abilities most of the time, and if you miss with those, you’re hosed. A Controller’s gameplan is useless if they miss. Citing my own experience, if you were there for the session where we battled the Dretch I used Call Forth the Spirit Pack and Faerie Fire in one round. Four attacks and I hit with just one. Had I hit with them all, both enemies would have been knocked prone and would be slowed and grant combat advantage until they saved at which point they would take 3d6+4 damage in addition to the damage from CFtSP. That would have changed the battle. But I missed. Hard. And for the rest of the encounter I sat back hurling Storm Spikes and pretending to be useful. Yeah, it’s not easy to play this role. Sure it’s fun to be the bane of the DM and turn his encounter on its head by blasting through his minions on the first turn or ruining his tactics by screwing with his enemies, but the fact is that a Controller is tough to play.
If you’re new to D&D, don’t play a controller. If you’re playing with a group of new players and one of you wants to play a Controller so you fill out all the roles, have that player roll up another Striker, because I promise you, you’ll have more fun that way. A Controller can be a fun, exciting, deep, strategic class to play… when you know what you’re doing. If you don’t, it can be utter hell. They aren’t very durable, they don’t do much damage, they rarely get to be the spotlight of an encounter, and they can be so confusing that you’ll wonder why people would bother playing them in the first place. Fact is that you need to know a lot to play a Controller. You need to know a lot about game mechanics and what abilities are too situational. You need to know a lot about status effects and how to best utilize them. You need to know a bit about optimization as there aren’t features set in place to make a poorly built Controller effective like there are for the other roles. If you’re looking for a fun, rewarding challenge that places emphasis on strategy and not just “smack with stick then roll damage”, play a Controller. If not, play something else because your party will be better off for it.
For those curious the Controller classes are the Wizard, the Invoker, the Druid, the Psion, and the Seeker. In addition, there is a D&D Essentials supplement coming out in March of next year featuring the “Shadow” power source, and it is expected that the Necromancer class will also be a Controller. For those curious what the “Essentials” are, I’ll get into that at a different time, but you can read about it and the ensuing nerd rage all around the D&D 4E forums. Next lesson will be for the Strikers, so that all new players in D&D know exactly what to go for.
If you guys have any comments or questions, leave them below and I’d love to read and respond to them.
The Controller is by far the hardest role to completely understand, and easily the most difficult to play effectively. I’ll be honest when I say I know I don’t play a Controller perfectly. Fact is, it’s a tough role to play, and many groups can survive just fine without one, yet at the same time having a good Controller could completely change the way a battle is fought. As I said, each role has a clear goal that defines their job, and the Controller’s is thus: Make sure your opponents can’t win.
On the surface that feels vague and confusing, but think of it like Final Fantasy for a moment. Strikers are the Black Mages of the game; squishy and vulnerable but absolute offensive monsters. Leaders are your White Mage mixed with a little Red Mage. They heal, buff, and in general play a versatile role suited to keeping the party moving. Your Defender is the Warrior; good damage, and the guy in the front line absorbing most of the damage. Controllers are then the Green Mages, casting debuffs and inflicting horrible status effects that impair and restrict the enemy at every turn. If you think of the Controller in that respect it’s a bit easier to understand your role, but let’s make it even simpler.
If the DM decides to have monsters do something. It’s your job to say “No”.
Controllers are the DM headache, and that’s intentional. The job of a Controller is just that: to control. Things like forced movement or slowing, those are things almost all classes can do, but the way a Controller does it is different. Let’s look shifting. Plenty classes have a way to shift the opponent. Most have them as Encounter or Class Features, but there are a few that aren’t Controllers that can do it At-Will. That means on your turn you can slide the opponent. Helpful right? Unlike the Defender’s Mark or the Striker’s extra damage the forced movement isn’t something restrictive to Controllers. However they can do it in a way completely unique. For example, the Druid has an At-Will power called Savage Rend that slides the enemy once on a hit. This power works as a Melee Basic Attack, meaning that it can be used for Opportunity Attacks. This means that if your Druid is engaged with the enemy, and they try to run away, you can pull them right back with a hit. That’s an example of controlling. It’s basically saying “no” when the DM attempts something.
What separates Controllers from the other role isn’t in a class feature like the other roles, but rather their Encounter and Daily powers having game changing effects. Their Dailies, in particular, are known for being devastating. Yes, all Dailies are intended to change a battle, but not on the scale of a Controller’s. Returning to the Druid (which I will often since well, Juliet…) there’s a Level 1 Daily known as Faerie Fire. Shitty name yes, but powerful. If you’ve been following our D&D exploits since they first started, you saw this power in effect. I hit it on the Spider Queen, and for the duration of the encounter she suffered from granting combat advantage to everybody. That meant every attack gave an automatic +2 bonus to hit, and our Rouge got her Sneak Attack damage. Had that attack not hit, our party might not have survived.
Of course you can say that about a lot of factors in a battle. The idea isn’t: a Controller will save the battle. Rather, it’s that a Controller’s actions will change the battle. Let’s look at a Seeker Encounter power known as Feyjump Shot. The power reads that you fire two attacks on two enemies. If only one attack hits you teleport the enemy a few squares. Decent, but if you hit with both, you are given the option of switching the two targets. So imagine it, your Fighter and Barbarian are locked up against a Brute while an Artillery Monster tears you apart from afar. If this attack connects, BAMF, your brute is now out of combat and will likely have to spend a turn just to get back into it and that precious squishy artillery unit is now sandwiched between a greataxe and a bastard sword. That’s the effect a Controller has on a battle.
But a Controller is really a thankless position due to its difficulty. The fact is, your best powers are one shot abilities most of the time, and if you miss with those, you’re hosed. A Controller’s gameplan is useless if they miss. Citing my own experience, if you were there for the session where we battled the Dretch I used Call Forth the Spirit Pack and Faerie Fire in one round. Four attacks and I hit with just one. Had I hit with them all, both enemies would have been knocked prone and would be slowed and grant combat advantage until they saved at which point they would take 3d6+4 damage in addition to the damage from CFtSP. That would have changed the battle. But I missed. Hard. And for the rest of the encounter I sat back hurling Storm Spikes and pretending to be useful. Yeah, it’s not easy to play this role. Sure it’s fun to be the bane of the DM and turn his encounter on its head by blasting through his minions on the first turn or ruining his tactics by screwing with his enemies, but the fact is that a Controller is tough to play.
If you’re new to D&D, don’t play a controller. If you’re playing with a group of new players and one of you wants to play a Controller so you fill out all the roles, have that player roll up another Striker, because I promise you, you’ll have more fun that way. A Controller can be a fun, exciting, deep, strategic class to play… when you know what you’re doing. If you don’t, it can be utter hell. They aren’t very durable, they don’t do much damage, they rarely get to be the spotlight of an encounter, and they can be so confusing that you’ll wonder why people would bother playing them in the first place. Fact is that you need to know a lot to play a Controller. You need to know a lot about game mechanics and what abilities are too situational. You need to know a lot about status effects and how to best utilize them. You need to know a bit about optimization as there aren’t features set in place to make a poorly built Controller effective like there are for the other roles. If you’re looking for a fun, rewarding challenge that places emphasis on strategy and not just “smack with stick then roll damage”, play a Controller. If not, play something else because your party will be better off for it.
For those curious the Controller classes are the Wizard, the Invoker, the Druid, the Psion, and the Seeker. In addition, there is a D&D Essentials supplement coming out in March of next year featuring the “Shadow” power source, and it is expected that the Necromancer class will also be a Controller. For those curious what the “Essentials” are, I’ll get into that at a different time, but you can read about it and the ensuing nerd rage all around the D&D 4E forums. Next lesson will be for the Strikers, so that all new players in D&D know exactly what to go for.
If you guys have any comments or questions, leave them below and I’d love to read and respond to them.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
DnD Lessons: Roles
Before people start carrying pitchforks, yes I am still working on Inside the Koma episode one. I’m a little over 33% done and it’s a matter of finding time to edit. Likely some will be done tonight, and with luck I hopefully can finish this weekend assuming I don’t get distracted too much—oooh a butterfly…
Anyway, some of you might notice I’m becoming really involved in 4th Edition D&D. From the massive campaign with Spoony, LordKaT, Y Ruler of Time, and the rest, to the side campaign LordKaT is DMing, to the request to start up a third group involving only fans, it may seem like I’ve become obsessed. To be blunt, I have since I’ve really enjoyed the game and never found a chance to play much before, but also because I’m doing research to potentially do a D&D education show with Skitch and (maybe) LordKaT that we can use to help teach people how to play D&D 4E starting with the basics, and moving on to more advanced abilities. I’m playing a lot because I’m trying to get as much experience as I can, and thus I’m also interested in taking and answering questions that any of you might have regarding how to play D&D effectively. If any of you have a question, send it as a tweet to @RolloT or leave a comment here, and I’ll try to answer it. For today I want to respond to a comment by The Lost Sorcerer who wanted to know my opinion on the different roles in D&D 4E, so here we go.
For those unaware, the “roles” in 4E are the different jobs each class is built best to perform. Each role requires a different mindset and a very different play style to use effectively, and they model the roles commonly seen in MMOs (the tank, the healer, the debuffer, etc.). In 4E there are four roles: the Striker, the Defender, the Leader, and the Controller. I will try to briefly describe each role’s unique job, and how best they are utilized.
The Striker (Avenger, Assassin, Barbarian, Monk, Ranger, Rouge, Sorcerer, and Warlock) – New comers flock here for you are welcome. The Striker is the “damage dealing” role dedicated solely to doing damage in loads. Most classes include some way for the character to add extra damage to each attack (the Rouge’s Sneak Attack, the Warlock’s Warlock Curse), and their goal is to bring down enemies swiftly and consistently. This is important because without a Striker a party can face a long battle, and find themselves overwhelmed, but in return a Striker without the party is a target who will be overrun and ripped to shreds. Every lightning bolt flinging Sorcerer needs a big sturdy Paladin in front of him to absorb the blows, and a wise Warlord to move him out of danger.
Again, this is the role most newbies flock to if they aren’t sure what they’ll like. As you’ll notice they have the most options available to play as, and the influence they have on battle is impossible to miss. It’s often very easy to forget that the Defender neutralized the elite boss for four rounds while everyone else picked off the soldiers, or that the Controller nerfed a large number of enemies’ rolls, but you’ll never mistake the Barbarian sundering the dragon’s skull in half. The goal of a Striker is to make sure he does as much damage as possible, but a word to the wise, don’t leap into portals you aren’t sure about. When you’re surrounded by an army of ghouls it really doesn’t matter how many d6s you roll.
The Defender (Battlemind, Fighter, Paladin, Swordmage, and Warden) – My favorite role, but a very polarizing job. To put it bluntly you will either love playing the Defender, or you will fucking hate it with a fiery passion. The Defender’s job is to put herself in the front line of every battle, and make sure the enemy focuses on her and only her. This means two things. One, you are going to be the toughest son of a bitch on the battlefield. On the other hand, you will be the character getting pummeled, and it’s not unbelievable to spend a majority of the epic battle unconscious at the feet of Lord McEvilson. To most, this is an embarrassment, and not very fun, but look at it this way. You know that 3d8 +12 fireball you took to the chin that brought you in the negatives? Yeah, well had that hit anyone else they would have been vaporized into dust. Take solace in the fact that when they heal you after the battle they all owe you drinks for the night.
The Defender is a good role for people interested in always being in combat. The fact of the matter is that most Strikers will stand five squares back from the action, but there’s no such thing in the world as a “Ranged Defender”. Each and every battle you’ll clash swords. When the party faces off against the insidious Demon King, Scribbles you’ll be the guy in his face roaring and cross blades with. Yes, the role is extremely dangerous. Yes, you will often times be a bloody mess. And yes, there’s a very good chance you’ll die, but in return, the party will have you to thank when everyone returns home safe, and you’ll have some sexy new war stories to tell your buddies down at the bar.
The Leader (Ardent, Artificer, Bard, Cleric, Runepriest, Shaman, and Warlord) – Most will initially hear this role and think “healer” and “support”, and with Cleric and Bard in there, it’s an understandable mistake. However, the Leader’s job is much more important than throwing out a heal spell and wishing everyone the best of luck. Instead of thinking of a frail whelp running around in robes tossing magic at his allies, think of tall, noble warrior, dressed in armor, engaging the foe while shouting formation orders to his allies in the thick of battle. Think of a general in the heat of battle rearranging his allies to support the to the moment strategy dedicated to giving his allies the ultimate positioning to ensure they can never lose. THAT is the Leader. He’s the strategist; the mastermind. He’s the guy who looks at the battlefield and shapes it to his will, and with him the battle will always be yours.
Again, going into this class thinking “healer” is wrong. Yes, your job is to provide healing and bonuses to your allies, but those are only one part of your job. When your Rouge has been surrounded by ogres you won’t be “healing” him out of danger. You’ll rearrange the battle to open a path for your ally, and then help maneuver him into a more advantageous position to ensure he’s performing his job correctly. Each Leader class has powers to do it all, but they focus in their own unique ways. The Cleric works well as a healer, while the Bard and Warlord are most effective at shifting the battlefield. Then you have characters like the Artificer who work to increase everyone’s attack and defense then sends them into battle, plus they all have ways to deal damage. Instead of thinking of this role as the White Mage, think of it as the Red Mage: versatile and nearly essential in every battle. If you’re playing the role correctly, then you will never run into a battle you can’t be an asset in.
The Controller (Druid, Invoker, Psion, Seeker, and Wizard) – Rounding off the list is the opposite of the Leader, the woman destined to bring down the opposing army with a smarmy grin on her face. This role is tough to use, and the most underrated as many teams can survive battles without one, but an effective Controller will ensure that her effect is felt on the field. With massive AoE (Area of Effect) spells, she can clear out the tiny minions to help free up the battlefield from these pests, and then when the vile Demon King, Scribbles appears she will drop enough effects on him to neutralize his hellish powers. Think about it, the Orc Barbarian only finally manages to free himself from your immobilization spell and now charges at you. Suddenly his mind is assaulted by horrors that distract him enough for him to miss his major attack. Then next turn the Defender greets him with a battle axe to the brow, and all you have to worry about is the blood you’re going to wash out of your clothes later.
That’s an optimized controller. The sad truth is that Controllers will often find their well laid out plans completely destroyed by one minor effect. There’s nothing more irritating than having a perfect line of sight to drop your vicious status effect inducing Daily on a big group of enemies only to have your Fighter run into the fray and getting in the way of the attack. As tempting as it might appear, it is bad form to attack her. But sometimes sacrifices must be made, and certain feats will even help to make such a situation advantageous. A Controller’s job will be to make the DM’s life an utter nightmare. When he wants to do something, it’s your job to deny him. As the Leader will ensure your team wins, it is your job to ensure the enemies lose. Don’t become distraught if you aren’t very useful in a given fight. You will be remembered always for the time you turned a helpless battle into a hard fought victory.
Those are the roles in a nutshell. It’s hard to define a role completely when each individual class has a unique way to do its job. For example while a Swordmage is a Defender, their job isn’t to engage an enemy like everyone else. To detail how each individual class performs their unique job would take too long at the current moment, but hopefully by reading this you will understand which role might best suit your playing style, but I would recommend that you task a risk and try something new!
Well, that was a quick lesson on roles. If anyone has any questions regarding anything else about D&D, again send me a message @RolloT on Twitter, or leave a message below! You can ask about any of the classes, races, mechanics or anything. Want to know how to build a character? Ask here. Want to know something about formation? Ask here. Ask anything and I’ll do my best to help. Until next time friends. Namaste.
Anyway, some of you might notice I’m becoming really involved in 4th Edition D&D. From the massive campaign with Spoony, LordKaT, Y Ruler of Time, and the rest, to the side campaign LordKaT is DMing, to the request to start up a third group involving only fans, it may seem like I’ve become obsessed. To be blunt, I have since I’ve really enjoyed the game and never found a chance to play much before, but also because I’m doing research to potentially do a D&D education show with Skitch and (maybe) LordKaT that we can use to help teach people how to play D&D 4E starting with the basics, and moving on to more advanced abilities. I’m playing a lot because I’m trying to get as much experience as I can, and thus I’m also interested in taking and answering questions that any of you might have regarding how to play D&D effectively. If any of you have a question, send it as a tweet to @RolloT or leave a comment here, and I’ll try to answer it. For today I want to respond to a comment by The Lost Sorcerer who wanted to know my opinion on the different roles in D&D 4E, so here we go.
For those unaware, the “roles” in 4E are the different jobs each class is built best to perform. Each role requires a different mindset and a very different play style to use effectively, and they model the roles commonly seen in MMOs (the tank, the healer, the debuffer, etc.). In 4E there are four roles: the Striker, the Defender, the Leader, and the Controller. I will try to briefly describe each role’s unique job, and how best they are utilized.
The Striker (Avenger, Assassin, Barbarian, Monk, Ranger, Rouge, Sorcerer, and Warlock) – New comers flock here for you are welcome. The Striker is the “damage dealing” role dedicated solely to doing damage in loads. Most classes include some way for the character to add extra damage to each attack (the Rouge’s Sneak Attack, the Warlock’s Warlock Curse), and their goal is to bring down enemies swiftly and consistently. This is important because without a Striker a party can face a long battle, and find themselves overwhelmed, but in return a Striker without the party is a target who will be overrun and ripped to shreds. Every lightning bolt flinging Sorcerer needs a big sturdy Paladin in front of him to absorb the blows, and a wise Warlord to move him out of danger.
Again, this is the role most newbies flock to if they aren’t sure what they’ll like. As you’ll notice they have the most options available to play as, and the influence they have on battle is impossible to miss. It’s often very easy to forget that the Defender neutralized the elite boss for four rounds while everyone else picked off the soldiers, or that the Controller nerfed a large number of enemies’ rolls, but you’ll never mistake the Barbarian sundering the dragon’s skull in half. The goal of a Striker is to make sure he does as much damage as possible, but a word to the wise, don’t leap into portals you aren’t sure about. When you’re surrounded by an army of ghouls it really doesn’t matter how many d6s you roll.
The Defender (Battlemind, Fighter, Paladin, Swordmage, and Warden) – My favorite role, but a very polarizing job. To put it bluntly you will either love playing the Defender, or you will fucking hate it with a fiery passion. The Defender’s job is to put herself in the front line of every battle, and make sure the enemy focuses on her and only her. This means two things. One, you are going to be the toughest son of a bitch on the battlefield. On the other hand, you will be the character getting pummeled, and it’s not unbelievable to spend a majority of the epic battle unconscious at the feet of Lord McEvilson. To most, this is an embarrassment, and not very fun, but look at it this way. You know that 3d8 +12 fireball you took to the chin that brought you in the negatives? Yeah, well had that hit anyone else they would have been vaporized into dust. Take solace in the fact that when they heal you after the battle they all owe you drinks for the night.
The Defender is a good role for people interested in always being in combat. The fact of the matter is that most Strikers will stand five squares back from the action, but there’s no such thing in the world as a “Ranged Defender”. Each and every battle you’ll clash swords. When the party faces off against the insidious Demon King, Scribbles you’ll be the guy in his face roaring and cross blades with. Yes, the role is extremely dangerous. Yes, you will often times be a bloody mess. And yes, there’s a very good chance you’ll die, but in return, the party will have you to thank when everyone returns home safe, and you’ll have some sexy new war stories to tell your buddies down at the bar.
The Leader (Ardent, Artificer, Bard, Cleric, Runepriest, Shaman, and Warlord) – Most will initially hear this role and think “healer” and “support”, and with Cleric and Bard in there, it’s an understandable mistake. However, the Leader’s job is much more important than throwing out a heal spell and wishing everyone the best of luck. Instead of thinking of a frail whelp running around in robes tossing magic at his allies, think of tall, noble warrior, dressed in armor, engaging the foe while shouting formation orders to his allies in the thick of battle. Think of a general in the heat of battle rearranging his allies to support the to the moment strategy dedicated to giving his allies the ultimate positioning to ensure they can never lose. THAT is the Leader. He’s the strategist; the mastermind. He’s the guy who looks at the battlefield and shapes it to his will, and with him the battle will always be yours.
Again, going into this class thinking “healer” is wrong. Yes, your job is to provide healing and bonuses to your allies, but those are only one part of your job. When your Rouge has been surrounded by ogres you won’t be “healing” him out of danger. You’ll rearrange the battle to open a path for your ally, and then help maneuver him into a more advantageous position to ensure he’s performing his job correctly. Each Leader class has powers to do it all, but they focus in their own unique ways. The Cleric works well as a healer, while the Bard and Warlord are most effective at shifting the battlefield. Then you have characters like the Artificer who work to increase everyone’s attack and defense then sends them into battle, plus they all have ways to deal damage. Instead of thinking of this role as the White Mage, think of it as the Red Mage: versatile and nearly essential in every battle. If you’re playing the role correctly, then you will never run into a battle you can’t be an asset in.
The Controller (Druid, Invoker, Psion, Seeker, and Wizard) – Rounding off the list is the opposite of the Leader, the woman destined to bring down the opposing army with a smarmy grin on her face. This role is tough to use, and the most underrated as many teams can survive battles without one, but an effective Controller will ensure that her effect is felt on the field. With massive AoE (Area of Effect) spells, she can clear out the tiny minions to help free up the battlefield from these pests, and then when the vile Demon King, Scribbles appears she will drop enough effects on him to neutralize his hellish powers. Think about it, the Orc Barbarian only finally manages to free himself from your immobilization spell and now charges at you. Suddenly his mind is assaulted by horrors that distract him enough for him to miss his major attack. Then next turn the Defender greets him with a battle axe to the brow, and all you have to worry about is the blood you’re going to wash out of your clothes later.
That’s an optimized controller. The sad truth is that Controllers will often find their well laid out plans completely destroyed by one minor effect. There’s nothing more irritating than having a perfect line of sight to drop your vicious status effect inducing Daily on a big group of enemies only to have your Fighter run into the fray and getting in the way of the attack. As tempting as it might appear, it is bad form to attack her. But sometimes sacrifices must be made, and certain feats will even help to make such a situation advantageous. A Controller’s job will be to make the DM’s life an utter nightmare. When he wants to do something, it’s your job to deny him. As the Leader will ensure your team wins, it is your job to ensure the enemies lose. Don’t become distraught if you aren’t very useful in a given fight. You will be remembered always for the time you turned a helpless battle into a hard fought victory.
Those are the roles in a nutshell. It’s hard to define a role completely when each individual class has a unique way to do its job. For example while a Swordmage is a Defender, their job isn’t to engage an enemy like everyone else. To detail how each individual class performs their unique job would take too long at the current moment, but hopefully by reading this you will understand which role might best suit your playing style, but I would recommend that you task a risk and try something new!
Well, that was a quick lesson on roles. If anyone has any questions regarding anything else about D&D, again send me a message @RolloT on Twitter, or leave a message below! You can ask about any of the classes, races, mechanics or anything. Want to know how to build a character? Ask here. Want to know something about formation? Ask here. Ask anything and I’ll do my best to help. Until next time friends. Namaste.
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