PDA

View Full Version : 4e- Fun with the Dragon Gladiator article (Dragon 368)



Asbestos
2008-12-28, 02:26 PM
Before Martial Power came out, this article was pretty cool... after Martial Power came out, it became awesome.

Anyway, I was thinking of some fun things that could be done with it.

Rogue + Bolas= Martial Controller. Rogues already seem to minor in controller, adding in a thrown weapon that immobilizes/knocks people prone? Awesome.

Rogue+Whip+Rattling stuff=Defender. Or, at the very least, a pretty good substitute for one. An off-hand reach weapon that causes those hit to take a -2 to hit a chosen ally... plus rattling them for another -2 to hit? That's a -4 to hit a chosen ally and you don't have to be adjacent because its a reach weapon. Combine this with the feat from the same article that let's you push the target of your Disheartening Strike attack and you're playing D pretty well. The whip specific powers are nothing to sneeze at either.

The downside to a rogue using a whip/bola is that you can't sneak attack with them.

Tempest Fighter + Whips = Crazy. Whips are off-hand weapons with reach and dagger damage/proficiency bonuses. A Tempest Fighter with whips does an extra 2 damage with them thanks to their class feature if they are wearing chainmail or lighter armor. Dual Strike can now hit enemies that aren't next to the fighter (which still marks them) and Funneling Flurry can be used to slide enemies next to the fighter. Oh, and that -2 to hit a chosen ally? That's still there. I wonder if you could pick two allies if both attacks from Dual Strike connected? The whip specific powers seem less awesome here since they're dex and not str based, except for the whip utility power. It lets you make OAs against enemies that provoke within reach, seems perfect for this build.

I was fooling around with the idea of a TWF ranger/Tempest Fighter with a net, but not sure how great it would be.

Anyway, anyone else see any other potential for awesome in this article? The feats that boost the at-will attacks seem pretty cool, but are many of them really worth it? Also, the non-arena feats, anyone see anything particularly useful in there?

KKL
2008-12-28, 03:07 PM
Ranger+Cobra Spitting Stance+Bola.

Mindiron Crossbow+Psychic Lock+Rattling+-1 SA Dice for -2 Attack Penalties=steady -6 to attack rolls for that opponent.

I believe its also doable with a Gith Double Sword.

IMO, if you can squeeze them in, the ___ Style feats are excellent.

Asbestos
2008-12-28, 03:42 PM
Ranger+Cobra Spitting Stance+Bola.
So basically the ranger locks down everyone within 5 squares of him... nice. Something weird about bolas... magic ones return after they hit... but the target is still immobilized.



Mindiron Crossbow+Psychic Lock+Rattling+-1 SA Dice for -2 Attack Penalties=steady -6 to attack rolls for that opponent.

I believe its also doable with a Gith Double Sword.

It does, but then you have the cheese of using a double sword because its both light and heavy. Anyway, I think that +1 SA die is better than -2 to attack, unless the target is insubstantial or something else that would make the SA damage less meaningful.

Kurald Galain
2008-12-28, 06:32 PM
IMO, if you can squeeze them in, the ___ Style feats are excellent.

Really? I have been unable to find much use of them; they seem to be way too narrow.

KKL
2008-12-28, 08:33 PM
So basically the ranger locks down everyone within 5 squares of him... nice. Something weird about bolas... magic ones return after they hit... but the target is still immobilized.
Not everything, mind you. It's an opportunity action and you only get one of those, IIRC. But yes, bolas and Cobra Stance are nasty.


It does, but then you have the cheese of using a double sword because its both light and heavy. Anyway, I think that +1 SA die is better than -2 to attack, unless the target is insubstantial or something else that would make the SA damage less meaningful.
Meh, use what you have. I personally favor the Crossbow version because I absolutely hate Double Swords. They were just a melee alternative to the build. And the point of this isn't damage, it's to target one opponent and completely deny him his attacks via huge penalties. As the Rogue, you could possibly PMC into Ranger just for Twin Strike to bump the penalty to -8. Add in Slaying Action and the penalty can go as high as -16 if all four attacks hit.

So basically, you can get -6/-8 and then bump it up to -10/-12 attack roll penalties.

EDIT: You need the level 10 Rattling Stance if you plan on using Twin Strike. I just did these quickly in my head, so I might be off.


Really? I have been unable to find much use of them; they seem to be way too narrow.

Personal opinion. They add oomph to the little things.

Asbestos
2008-12-28, 08:51 PM
Really? I have been unable to find much use of them; they seem to be way too narrow.

Yeah, of them the only ones that look all that great are Exotic Fighting Style and Warding Shield Style... and not that much. Others are good though if you want to give a boost to your Tiefling/Eldarin/similarly non-standard martial class races.