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I have a bit of a tricky situation coming up in my 4E game. The party was attacked by a warlock a few (in-game) weeks ago, they found out he has ties to a local thieves guild, and they're currently trying to infiltrate the guild to find this guy. They don't know that they unintentionally pissed off the head of the guild a long time ago and that he's more than happy to let them try to get into his guild so he, in turn, can get at them. He also especially wants to get his hands on one of the PCs, a Warforged who has important information stored in his brain but doesn't know. My general idea for the guild's next actions goes something like: offer the party a meeting with the warlock in exchange for a chance to extract the information, and lure both the Warforged and the rest of the party into traps separately and kidnap them. I'd like to be a good DM about it and avoid railroading as much as possible while still having the thieves guild make a very serious effort to capture the party, but I don't think I've nailed a good way to go about this yet. Really all that's important to me is that after all this, both the party and the thieves guild have the information, and the party knows they're up against a powerful underworld boss and his buddies, so I'm pretty flexible and not married to the kidnapping idea at all. Everything else I can think of doesn't feel quite right though.
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# ¿ Aug 23, 2010 11:08 |
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# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 22:53 |
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Thanks for the input! All great ideas, and I think I got a better grip on the situation and a halfway decent plan now. Never really looked at the Eberron setting beyond Warforged stats and items, other than that our principle is "it works the way we say it works." But actually that whole idea about reading a Warforged's memories is more or less what I already established as possible / planned, so I'ma go with that. Also the sleep gas, which is an idea I'd already dismissed as too potentially railroady (heard too many DM quotes that go like "suddenly the room fills with gas and you all fall unconscious unless you can make a DC 45 save "), but playing it against time is a fantastic idea to give them a chance to turn the situation around.
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# ¿ Aug 25, 2010 11:29 |
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veekie posted:The kick in the nuts could probably be the weight triggered pit trap for the warforged, so the others must consider to fight their way out before the gas knocks them out, or to free the warforged from the pit(and risk being taken out by the gas) or the ever popular Option 3(whatever the hell your players think of, perhaps jamming or counteracting the poison, maybe stealing the masks off their opponents to slow the KO down) A few months ago someone posted a great way to kick off a campaign and get PCs together right here, but I can't for the life of me remember who or in what thread, and there's no chance of me finding that post again so I'm just gonna post what I can remember and hope mystery person doesn't mind: Basically the DM starts off by describing a more or less everyday situation, and the players get to describe who their characters are in that situation. The specific example used was a busy marketplace where an prisoner was about to be executed, and PCs could be anything from random guards or merchants to the executioner or the prisoner or entirely new characters; I think one inserted himself in the role of a priest sent along to give the prisoner last rites, another described himself as a thief looking for a secret passage in an alley (and being very annoyed at the large crowd), and another ended up a messenger who just arrived with new evidence for the prisoner's innocence or something. I thought that was just fantastic: it introduces the immediate setting, it makes for an initial adventure, and most importantly it introduces the characters in a way that gives everyone a good idea of who everyone else is, and it offers tons of opportunities for interesting inter-party dynamics. It's very simple, but has incredible potential. Instead of a fighter, cleric, rogue and wizard who met in an inn and saw the "help my basement is full of rats" ad the party could be a con artist framed for murder, a guard who doesn't quite trust him but is also suspicious of the situation, the con artist's wizard buddy who just saved him at the last minute and a wandering priest whose cart they appropriated, all together on the run from corrupt officials, within an hour of sitting down at the table. Okay so I'm gushing but when I read that I seriously considered restarting my own campaign just so I could use this method. My Lovely Horse fucked around with this message at 22:50 on Aug 25, 2010 |
# ¿ Aug 25, 2010 22:20 |
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My Lovely Horse posted:I might simply make it a skill challenge to get out of the room once the gas is set off, with some thugs waiting outside, and depending on how well the party does they'd end up fighting them at full strength, fighting them with one PC unconscious from the gas (and needing a Heal check or two to join the fray), or everyone falling victim to the gas after all. e: vvv Yeah in retrospect I kinda dropped the ball there because even by the object rules as written, i.e. entirely without me going "nope the door is too sturdy (because this is a skill challenge dammit)", that would have been 90 HP worth of door to break down for some level 6 guys. That alone might have convinced them to try a different approach. (I do love those object rules, though.) My Lovely Horse fucked around with this message at 21:34 on Aug 29, 2010 |
# ¿ Aug 29, 2010 18:14 |
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^^ oh, okay. In that case, yeah, Constitution score x2 in rounds (and a CON check every round after that, DC increasing by 1/round, once you fail one you have three rounds left).Sam_I_Am posted:What are good D&D4E mechanics for running a fight against more goblins than the party could take-on themselves? The whole point is that the monks were crucial to the fight, but I don't want two dozen minis on each side of the battle. My Lovely Horse fucked around with this message at 22:00 on Sep 13, 2010 |
# ¿ Sep 13, 2010 21:28 |
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Firstly, make sure your players are okay with this turn of events, although I'd think it's definitely a better solution than "welp these guys sure are dead make new characters."PostwarMutant posted:a) what can I do to have the undeath be both fun but also undesirable in the long run? I've thought about granting a new, temporary power, but also making it so that they cannot regain their healing surges, or steadily lose attribute points, or something like that. quote:b) What might be a good way of getting rid of the undeath? Visiting a legendary necromancer? Investigating the long lost city of the dead? I'd like it to be something more than, "kill your way to the magic potion."
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# ¿ Nov 3, 2010 18:51 |
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PostwarMutant posted:This seems like a lot of bookkeeping for something I only want to last a couple sessions. I'll keep it in mind if, for some reason, they want to stay undead though. Quick question - what book is the Revenant material in?
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# ¿ Nov 4, 2010 22:26 |
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Got myself into a bit of a complex situation again. The PCs are possessed by an evil spirit and presumably at some point they'll want to get rid of him. This will be done through an introspective mushroom trip (or similar convenient measure) during which they'll have to traverse their own minds, Psychonauts style, to find and destroy him. I was thinking of giving each PC their own personal ordeal, and each passed ordeal is going to make the fight with the spirit easier. Problem is I can only really think of two. - they'll believe to encounter the group of enemy NPCs they're currently pursuing. This will be the warlock's ordeal since he's been making a name for himself as Official Chief Torturer to the Party, which is totally fine behavior as far as the spirit is concerned, so he's actually going to have to hold back on that to pass. - they'll encounter a big nasty brute as the fighter's ordeal. To pass he's going to have to hold it off long enough for the others to down it, or until he goes down himself, all while the spirit is tempting him to leave them behind. - the bard's a bit tricky but I was thinking of having her have to get some NPCs on her side with diplomacy and magic far enough for them to help her, but not far enough for them to be put into danger. Kinda tricky to convey that in game, I think. Either way, the spirit would definitely want her to charm as many people as possible as ruthlessly as possible to gain followers. - I'm drawing a total blank on the wizard, not least because the player tends to play her characters as just bland enough to make things like personal ordeals really hard to design. I remember it was exactly the same in a different campaign. I guess I could go the old "the spirit promises vast arcane power" route but that's kinda played out. The warlock is her brother, though, and she's had to deal with his antics for a long time. He actually got them both kicked out of Magic Academy - maybe I could do something like, the spirit tempts her to finally leave that useless freeloader behind, she has to stand by him to pass, blah blah. Not entirely sure about the specifics though. Any ideas for the bard and wizard, or improvements on the other two?
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# ¿ Nov 10, 2010 20:02 |
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DarkHorse posted:The other players can participate by complaining if he doesn't use his powers and encouraging him when he does, maybe with phrases like, "It's a lot easier now they don't have free will to complicate things." quote:For the wizard, talk to the warlock ahead of time and tell him to unleash a super-evil version of his character and reenact their expulsion from the academy. The wizard should choose between abandoning his brother to evil to gain immense power and sacrificing his studies for a thankless watch over a (perhaps) incorrigible jerk. It's generally less of a "go against your instincts" deal than it is "go against what the spirit would want you to do", it's just that in the Warlock's case those happen to be broadly the same. quote:Another caveat: The players might not get hints. The way I want to set up the fight, by the way, is that each passed ordeal gives the party one torch that they can use to light fires in the spirit's arena, and each lit fire reveals a zone based on their mindscapes that gives a mechanical bonus. A small stage for the bard, an arcane diagram for the wizard etc. That way even if some of them don't pass the worst thing that will happen is they'll have a harder time in the fight.
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# ¿ Nov 10, 2010 21:52 |
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Feel free! I think it's one of my better ones. And yeah, forgot to mention it, but the entire party will be present and together at all times, and they can help (or hinder) as they wish. I considered making it a series of individual scenes but like you say, it's boring to just watch. Plus the fighter's scene, for one, wouldn't work at all if it was only him.
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# ¿ Nov 10, 2010 22:32 |
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Onion Knight posted:At any rate, I'm interested to hear how your idea pans out, MLH. Keep us updated.
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# ¿ Nov 13, 2010 22:00 |
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My Lovely Horse posted:Will do, but it might be a while! I set the whole thing up today but learned my group most likely won't have time to get together again for the next 2-3 weeks. I'll be glad if we can even make it one more time this year - November/December is always a rough time for roleplaying for us. The Warlock: will encounter one of the main antagonist's henchmen and his party, and will have to resist the temptation to do the usual ambush/torture/kill routine for once. His bonus in the fight against the spirit will be a few areas where his Shadow Walk grants total concealment, and he can crit on a 19 for the encounter. The Fighter: will have to defend the party from an ambush and choose between running or standing up to the enemy (who hits like a truck). Passing condition is defending the party until either the enemy is dead or the fighter himself drops. As a reward he gets a +3 weapon for the boss fight that does radiant damage (I gave the spirit a pretty severe radiant vulnerability). The Bard: will have to race to a certain location within a short time limit and come across several situations on the way that demand her attention, passing condition would be tending towards a majority of those situations despite the time pressure. The reward is an additional bonus when she uses Song of Courage and her Majestic Word also granting a saving throw. The Wizard: will be transported back to when the warlock was just about to be expelled from the academy and will have to decide whether to stick with him and abandon her studies or stay at the academy. Passing condition is obviously staying with him, reward is an additional encounter power that does radiant damage and can push the enemy around. Also every character who passes gets a +2 bonus to saves against domination, which is one of the spirit's major tricks (hence also the additional saving throw for Majestic Word). And like I said the entire party will be present at everyone's trial to help or screw things up as they wish. I'm assuming 2 or 3 of them will pass; if all four pass they're probably going to mop the floor with the spirit but that's really fair enough. If no one passes, well, they'll still be mostly alright probably.
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# ¿ Nov 29, 2010 12:22 |
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Vaguely kicking around an idea for a big arena battle, putting some notes here for inspiration, troubleshooting and just general outside input. 4E as usual. The basic idea is the Royal Rumble, but team-based (4E being what it is). I'm thinking I'd have maybe four or five teams of four that enter the battle one by one in an order determined by random draw. You're removed from the battle if you get knocked down to 0 hit points or are pushed into a designated area (this would allow for a saving throw as per forced movement over a cliff). The winning team is the one whose members are the last standing. Probably the biggest and most obvious problem is the idea of, assuming one participant entering per round, a fight of at least 16 rounds. This idea would need a strong focus on the players' actions to work, i.e. no terribly detailed descriptions of what NPC participants are doing to each other. Maybe just have combattants take 10 damage on their turn if they're not directly engaged with PCs, or maybe just DM fiat it altogether ("you see George the barbarian shove Alan the wizard into the You Lose Square and turn towards Jim the rogue on the opposite side of the arena, he's not going to come over and bother you just yet"). HP would probably need to be reduced, too. NPC participants would also need to be kept very simple, nothing more than HP, defenses, an at will attack and an encounter attack or passive effect. Anything to make this a little less of a bookkeeping nightmare. PCs with social skills could shine here as they persuade or bully NPCs into attacking who they'd prefer. Maybe that would even make a good immediate reaction or interrupt. Certainly it would make the time between players' turns less dull. Something like "Trigger: an attack targets a creature within 5 squares, target: the attacker, effect: make a Diplomacy/Bluff/Intimidate roll, success: redirect the attack to a target of your choice" as an encounter power. (At this point I'm already leaving my notes and making poo poo up as I go along but that doesn't sound bad.)
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# ¿ Jan 5, 2011 16:08 |
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Yeah that's one of the aspects I haven't quite worked out. Best I can think of is either to just not give NPCs forced movement, or to have them use it only on each other, or to have the PCs stop just short of the zone when they do get hit with one to create situations that are more "that one almost got you, you need to get away from there and quick" than "welp that big guy had a lucky roll so maybe you could go grab us sandwiches since you're not doing anything in the next two hours." Or I might steal from the WWE style rumble even more - getting pushed into the You Lose Square is the only losing condition, and HP function as your remaining ability to manage to catch yourself before you go in. This works as long as you have HP left but as soon as you hit 0, anyone can push you around at will, which still allows for your leader to heal you.
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# ¿ Jan 5, 2011 16:51 |
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Just quickly want to say thanks for the input on my Royal Rumble idea! I managed to persuade a few guys to sit down tomorrow and give it a practice run so I'm sure I'll catch some more problems, but I did specifically put in some more enemy leaders because while the tactical option of throwing someone out now vs. doing it later didn't even occur to me, I really like it.
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# ¿ Jan 8, 2011 19:40 |
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My Lovely Horse posted:Just quickly want to say thanks for the input on my Royal Rumble idea! I managed to persuade a few guys to sit down tomorrow and give it a practice run so I'm sure I'll catch some more problems Pros: things went much faster than I thought, waiting times for players weren't unreasonable at all, it's definitely a good idea on paper. Cons: being able to throw someone out only after they've been reduced to 0 HP doesn't actually make the battle different from the regular encounter with the mechanic of "beat everyone down to 0." Towards the end no one bothered to throw anyone over the side anymore, just left them lying because hey, they weren't getting up anymore either way. We tried a variant with just the usual forced movement/going over cliffs rules in effect but no one had much in the way of forced movement and it doesn't work very well with only Bull Rush available. Pretty much every melee situation turned into an aimless back-and-forth shoving match. Maybe the battle needs a way to have downed enemies come back more reliably when they're left lying, maybe a smaller arena would have been good, maybe the second way would work just fine if the party and enemies all have forced movement options, either way there's a good idea in there but I haven't quite nailed it yet. Gonna put this one in the "ideas to be developed" file for a while.
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# ¿ Jan 9, 2011 19:07 |
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I was asked to update with news about how my personal vision quest shroom trip thing would go.My Lovely Horse posted:The Warlock: will encounter one of the main antagonist's henchmen and his party, and will have to resist the temptation to do the usual ambush/torture/kill routine for once. quote:The Fighter: will have to defend the party from an ambush and choose between running or standing up to the enemy (who hits like a truck). Passing condition is defending the party until either the enemy is dead or the fighter himself drops. quote:The Wizard: will be transported back to when the warlock was just about to be expelled from the academy and will have to decide whether to stick with him and abandon her studies or stay at the academy. quote:The Bard: will have to race to a certain location within a short time limit and come across several situations on the way that demand her attention, passing condition would be tending towards a majority of those situations despite the time pressure. In the end they threatened the wise old man at knifepoint, got the town sheriff killed in a wild animal attack, and the bard got herself banned from the village premises for life for failing to offer even the tiniest slip of explanation and pretty much just happily going "we're exorcising a demon, anyway this isn't real, gottagobye" at the increasingly desperate requests from her townsmen. Of course it really was all in her head but she can't actually be sure about that, and as soon as the Warlock identified himself towards the kindly old elder as "the guy with the knife who's telling you what to do" with no interference from the bard they weren't going to win this anymore either way so I just settled for upping the guilt factor as much as possible and will continue to do so. I actually kind of hope that this makes a) all of them consider that maybe it's a good idea to tone down on the paranoia and check situations before assuming the absolute worst, and b) the bard stand up to the warlock every once in a while. I actually looked at the scenario and thought "yep, this looks like a thing the warlock might screw up for her. Well she'll just have to keep him from doing that as an additional condition, either way it'll be a lesson."
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# ¿ Jan 23, 2011 19:07 |
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Mundane methods: a windowless cell, a bag over the head or a blindfold. Magic methods include the Dimensional Anchor (Level 16, Adventurer's Vault 2) or the Dimensional Shackles (Level 17, PHB). The anchor disables any teleportation within 10 squares, the shackles do the same for the creature wearing them.
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# ¿ Mar 9, 2011 10:32 |
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For Eladrin PCs removing or restricting teleportation options really is what makes the escape interesting. Without it the entire situation boils down to "you're imprisoned" "no I'm not."
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# ¿ Mar 9, 2011 20:38 |
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Apocadall posted:Well I went with after their short romp into the mountains to complete the short quest line I've had them working on they head back to the city. They were denied entry and asked to leave, reason being all non-humans were removed from the city. Four of the five players decide to leave and head towards next town, but not one, who attacks the guardsman calling them racists. The other four not wanting to die subdue him and make a run for it.
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# ¿ Apr 18, 2011 18:48 |
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If my players wanted to resolve things among themselves with skill rolls I wouldn't keep them from doing it, but I'd encourage pure roleplaying solutions and I'd never call for a social skill check from one PC against another (or any social checks except Bluff on PCs, for that matter). I'm not a big fan of the concept that training in Bluff or Intimidate should get you the opportunity to influence what another character does. Players should work tricky situations out among themselves and remain in full control. Very recent situation from one of my games: one player stole a valuable cloak, the theft was reported to the city watch, and my character is a watchman. This is a scenario with lots of roleplaying potential on both sides, but if the DM allowed the other player a simple Bluff check ("Nope, this is an entirely different cloak." - "Oh, okay then! ") it would fall completely flat. This does require us both not to be the kind of players who have their rogue steal all the loot or their paladins force everyone to donate to the local temple, but that's the point - as players we can easily cooperate and come up with a compromise.
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# ¿ May 3, 2011 11:55 |
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My players are planning to assassinate the head arcanist of an evil kingdom, and since these things are never easy, he's protected by three seals that need to be approached in certain ways. I've got two worked out; the third protects him from physical harm so I thought it'd be nice if the method to break it was to physically destroy it with a certain weapon. The thing is, I don't want this to be too easy ("oh, he kept the Sword of Sealbreaking in this locked cabinet right next to the seal, how handy"), but at the same time don't want to dwell on it for more than 30-60 minutes of playtime, if that. Any quick ideas?
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# ¿ Jun 21, 2011 17:10 |
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Excellent! Just the kind of thing I was looking for, thanks.
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# ¿ Jun 21, 2011 18:12 |
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You probably don't want to make anything but Slam and Pinning Fire basic attacks. The way it's written now he gets to use Frenzied Swings as an opportunity attack, which seems harsh.
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# ¿ Jul 5, 2011 07:11 |
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I make a lot of notes, lists of an area's or a location's general traits, history, noteworthy NPCs in a location, then I throw them out the window as soon as we start playing and make poo poo up that ends up being vaguely the same as what I wrote down but diverges in key aspects so much that my notes instantly become worthless.
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# ¿ Jul 6, 2011 19:05 |
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KakerMix posted:Sorry if our dynamic world system is too advanced for you, but with you playing 4th ed I'm sure anything beyond WoW's amazing realism would be too much. I doubt you could appreciate the groundbreaking systems we've developed. e: like, this whole post explaining why you like the way you guys play and what makes it cool in a way that should at least enable everyone to appreciate it, even if they like other styles better, only to reveal it was really just "the game you play is dumb and for kids" wankery all along? Really? My Lovely Horse fucked around with this message at 18:35 on Aug 11, 2011 |
# ¿ Aug 11, 2011 18:27 |
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Classtoise posted:Items! Loot! Swag! Gloves Power (Immediate Reaction * At-Will? Encounter?): Trigger: An enemy marked by you takes a move action. Effect: Shift one square. As a reaction, as mentioned, it's automatically 1/round, and it also automatically happens after the triggering action is completed. Is it supposed to trigger only for adjacent enemies, or could you shift when the guy across the battlefield you just marked with a crossbow shot walks over to his buddy? Either way, it's pretty good for a defender - in fact I'm sure I've seen an item, power or feat that does exactly this. Light Blade Proficiency: +3 Enhancement bonus:[/B] +1 attack and damage Critical: +1d6 cold damage Power (Daily, Free action): Trigger: You hit an enemy with a poison attack using this weapon. Effect: In addition to the attack's normal effect, the target is slowed (Save ends). Seems pretty situational but definitely good for characters who use poison a lot. Gonna skip the basics: Maul: [B](Daily, Free Action): Trigger: You hit with a melee basic attack following a charge. Effect: In addition to the attack's normal effect, you push the target one square and knock it prone. You might want to add "if your attack already pushes the target, using this power pushes it 1 more square" or something. Also I'm pretty sure I've seen an item like this somewhere, too. Quarter Staff's fine as it is, for the shield you might want to clear up whether it targets enemies or creatures in the blast, and how long the slow effect lasts.
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# ¿ Aug 12, 2011 07:01 |
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I'd recommend Rules Compendium and Monster Vault as well. Technically Essentials I suppose but RC is a fantastic resource and MV just has so many well-designed and basic monsters.
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# ¿ Oct 12, 2011 14:06 |
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Out of combat? They've got the guy pinned down, i.e. helpless? Unarmed melee attack coup de grace, or weapon attack is appropriate too, if they hit then sure his arm's broken or whatever. Yes this has the potential to outright kill a guy depending on how much they already beat him up, that's my intention because I like when players can't do that sort of thing indiscriminately. In combat? Ask if the character has a power that gives something like -2 to attacks or defenses until the end of the encounter or whatever effect you think is appropriate. If they do, have them use that. If they don't, spontaneously I'd say have them make a grab attempt, if the enemy's still grabbed next turn, they can attempt an unarmed or weapon melee attack to break it, dealing damage and applying whatever penalty you think is appropriate. Again, the higher chance of failure/action cost is supposed to be a deterrent against getting a free additional encounter power from description. Important: tell your player the penalty you're going to apply before he commits to the idea, and don't budge when he tries the "but he should also get" thing. Mechanics cause description, description doesn't cause mechanics. Also keep the penalty somewhat in line with what they can regularly cause. My Lovely Horse fucked around with this message at 17:55 on Nov 10, 2011 |
# ¿ Nov 10, 2011 17:53 |
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poo poo forget everything I said, that's the way to go.
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# ¿ Nov 10, 2011 19:55 |
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Thelonious Funk posted:That being said, can anyone help me with loot in 4e? For the cash portion I'll usually write down the total amount for the current level and subtract the respective amount whenever I have them find GP or treasure in-game, or whenever they gain a benefit that has a monetary value. For example if they talk an NPC into using a ritual on their behalf for free, I'll subtract one use of that ritual, or if they talk him into buying an item for 125% of the selling price, I'll subtract the additional 25%. I treat it as more of a story/benefit than actual financial budget. Of course you got to make sure the budget runs out at roughly the time they level up. Another and far easier method is of course: apply inherent bonuses, give out exactly the items that you want or make sense for the in-game situation at the moment, leave all worries behind.
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# ¿ Jan 7, 2012 22:49 |
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I'm starting a new campaign and got the following characters: - a Drow cleric formerly of Eilistraee who now worships the Raven Queen - a Genasi warrior from the Shadowfell - a vigilante bounty hunter who is looking for the wizard who murdered her mentor in retaliation for her mentor killing the wizard's son (arguably justified) - a Dwarf who found her calling as a mediator between the natural world and civilization The bounty hunter's backstory is pretty rich and detailed and as soon as I read it I knew the wizard had to be the main villain of the campaign. I'm currently trying to tie in the others' backstories and interests in as well so it's not just three dudes helping out another on his own personal quest. So far I've come up with: the wizard wants to resurrect his son, and only Raven Queen clerics know the secret of raising the dead; afterwards, he wants to sell the knowledge to some elemental beings (from the Genasi's backstory) to gain ultimate power over his trademark element, fire. I'm just not sure yet where the Dwarf could come in, although I have a vague idea about the wizard stirring up trouble between civilized folks and the more tribal kobold and goblin societies for some reason I'd have to make up. If anyone has additional or alternative ideas, I'd appreciate them!
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# ¿ Jan 10, 2012 11:30 |
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Interstellar Owl posted:It's quite a large party that I'm running, note these are all level 4.
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# ¿ Jan 20, 2012 21:05 |
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I'm planning to make the epic tier of my long-running campaign largely about retrieving legendary equipment from wherever it's ended up in the past 1500 years. These are going to be the best quality magic items the party will ever find, and they should be in suitably outlandish or difficult locations. People here never seem to have any shortage of ideas, and I'd be obliged if you could throw some at me.
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# ¿ Jan 21, 2012 16:13 |
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Just declare in advance that it's nonlethal and ask people to reflavour attacks and actions accordingly. No need to make it more complicated than that.
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# ¿ Jan 22, 2012 12:48 |
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Usual fireball: the wizard summons elemental fire into an explosion. Bar brawl fireball: the wizard chucks a bottle of hard alcohol, shatters it on the floor, and sends just enough of a spark into the spill to let it flare up. Do note that depending on system and characters a limit on lethal powers might effectively shut some of them down entirely and affect some of them more than others. A wizard with only fire spells who is allowed to reflavour them into less lethal versions can participate as usual, the same wizard who plain can't use them is suddenly left with no options. Meanwhile the fighter has no problems at all keeping his sword in the sheath, using a broken bottle as a weapon and doing all the stuff he usually does.
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# ¿ Jan 22, 2012 14:00 |
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Well, if everyone could do reasonably well in a physical fight, it should work out just fine to say "bar brawls are a regular thing here but only as long as no one draws any weapons or does any magic, so watch it," set up a few environmental options (overturn a table to create cover, place a few one-time use objects like bottles that deal additional damage when used as a weapon) to give the characters a few options, especially those who would lose some, balance the opponents around unarmed/improvised weapon use, and watch the party go to town and figure out new tactics on the fly. Other ideas for one-use items: a picture that deals normal damage, but you can hit someone over the head so the frame restrains them; the darts from a dartboard or pool cues; the landlord's old musket over the fireplace that no one knows if he keeps it loaded or if it even fires anymore, but when some crazy bastard actually takes it from the wall, everyone tries their best to get away...
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# ¿ Jan 22, 2012 14:24 |
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Affi posted:The warforged barbarian charges all the time! Which is fine! (even when he kills my squishy mages) But I want ways to occasionally stop him! quote:I feel stupid having minions oneshotting themselves. Do they really take unavoidable damage?
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# ¿ Jan 23, 2012 21:56 |
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Affi posted:am I being unreasonable? Maybe?
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# ¿ Jan 24, 2012 08:27 |
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# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 22:53 |
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Affi posted:How does that sound?
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# ¿ Jan 30, 2012 14:04 |