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potatocubed
2009-02-05, 04:45 AM
So, I'm running a weekly D&D game and one of the characters is a warlord. So far he's got no magic items, since anything that he can use is better off in the hands of the fighter. (He does have a nifty golden hat, though. And a mummified hand. And a goblin head on a stick.)

Anyway, I'm having trouble thinking of magic items that would be better off in the hands of the warlord than anyone else, so I thought I'd canvass for opinions. What should I seed the adventures with?

Info!

The party is about to hit level 3. They are a warlock (infernal pact), a warlord (Int-based), a fighter (2H weapon) and a cleric (heal-bot and ranged combatant).

The normal combat style is for the fighter to hold as narrow a front as possible and everyone else to stand back and do ranged damage. The warlord typically hangs around at the back using the fighter as his weapon (a lot of Commander's Strike). A magic weapon would be wasted on him, and because his Int is insane he's got a better AC without armour than he can achieve with it, so magic armour is less than optimal too.

Any suggestions?

Oracle_Hunter
2009-02-05, 05:01 AM
You do realize that you can wear Magic Hide Armor and use your INT bonus, yes? And that Commander's Strike requires you to be adjacent to the enemy to use (#18 (http://wizards.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wizards.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=1396))? If you're not attacking to activate, say, Lead the Attack, then you aren't really helping your Fighter out as much as you could be.

So yes, a Magic Weapon would be great, since it can enhance your hit-rate with your powers. If you can lay your hands on a Magic Sword +2 (LV 6) then by all means go for it!

Armor wise, Sylvan Hide +1 (LV 3) is nice, thanks to the bonus to Athletics (and also Stealth) while Deathcut +1 (LV 5) gives you a sweet Poison and Necrotic resist. And Delver's Hide +1 (LV 3) is OK if you can get it on the cheap.

Another nice item is the Shield of Protection (LV 3) since it can cover both you and your Fighter in case you both need to take a lot of OAs. Oh, and carry lots of Healing Potions - you can administer them when your Fighter falls down :smallbiggrin:

Renx
2009-02-05, 05:21 AM
How about a figurine that summons a few berserkers ? It's 2nd ed but shouldn't be too hard to whip up one, say, 2 berserkers at xl-1 of user, xl+2 rounds per day ? That would give your warlord a chance to do what he does best.

Granted, I don't know much about 4e but that's how I'd solve it ;)

Ceaon
2009-02-05, 05:34 AM
Anyway, I'm having trouble thinking of magic items that would be better off in the hands of the warlord than anyone else, so I thought I'd canvass for opinions. What should I seed the adventures with?

A typical Warlord would make just as good use out of a magic weapon and magical armor or maybe a shield as a fighter, since he's a melee combatant and most of his powers require him to hit. Since he has a high Int, light armor would help him out. The above poster made some good suggestions.


The normal combat style is for the fighter to hold as narrow a front as possible and everyone else to stand back and do ranged damage. The warlord typically hangs around at the back using the fighter as his weapon (a lot of Commander's Strike).

Two things. One: if this tactic is working, it means the encounters are too one-dimensional. A fighter is supposed to keep some of the danger of his comrades, not all. Monsters are supposed to go for the weaklings if they have a choice. Monsters can sneak, hide, make area attacks, pull, push, slide, etcetera.
Two: a warlord is a melee character. Hiding behind the fighter is bound to bring down his usefulness. It seems he is spamming one at-will power (in a way that might not even be allowed by RAW), while he should also have some useful encounter powers, another useful at-will, and maybe some dailies he'd like to use, in melee.


A magic weapon would be wasted on him, and because his Int is insane he's got a better AC without armour than he can achieve with it, so magic armour is less than optimal too.

His strength should still be higher than his intelligence, since his strength is needed to hit with almost all his attacks. Light armor and your dex or int stacks, as stated before. And if a magic weapon is wasted on him, he might want to start attacking himself.

One extra tip: I don't think the player is playing this class as it is intended, which limits his options and probably his effectiveness and the fun he's having with the character in combat. Maybe he should play another class, preferably a striker (two leaders in a four-man-party is a bit overkill). Maybe an archery ranger would be more to his liking?

And the last tip: ask the player what he wants. Aren't there any magic items currently owned by the fighter he'd like? What does he actually want to do during combat? Does he like what he's doing now?

Good luck,

Kurald Galain
2009-02-05, 06:10 AM
The warlord typically hangs around at the back using the fighter as his weapon (a lot of Commander's Strike).
Although it is a common choice, CS really isn't that great as warlord powers go.


A magic weapon would be wasted on him,
Start with a Communal weapon and go from there.



and because his Int is insane he's got a better AC without armour than he can achieve with it, so magic armour is less than optimal too.
Then take any magic light armor.

Hal
2009-02-05, 07:47 AM
Exalted Armor tends to be a good choice. Don't remember if it counts as light, but it gives a daily bonus of 1d10 to healing powers.

This might be redundant with a healbot cleric in the party, but I find you can't really have too much healing. I play in a game with a party that contains a cleric, a paladin, AND a multiclass warlord, and I (the cleric) still burn through nearly all of my healing each combat.

NecroRebel
2009-02-05, 11:26 AM
Warlords tend to love reach weapons while fighters tend not to. A reach weapon would allow your warlord to stay behind the fighter while still contributing, even allowing Commander's Strike to be used outside adjacent range. Give him one that corresponds to his stats/feats if you can: a Glaive if he's pumped his Dex and taken Heavy Blade feats (it counts as one), a Halberd if his tertiary stat is Con and his feats involve Axes, or a Longspear if he has no clear tertiary or if his quaternaries are Dex and Wis.

Magic hide is also something very nice. Exalted armor unfortunately is Chain-only, which makes you lose your Int bonus to AC, so don't go for that. I'd suggest either straight magic armor with no property, armor with resistance to the most common attack type you're going up against, or ask him what he wants and look into that. In fact, asking what he wants is a good idea for every item that you can give.

Without knowing his build and tactics more exactly, it's very difficult to determine just what sorts of equipment he'd find useful. If nothing else, just give him items that the Fighter already has or that the Fighter has something better in that slot.

Izmir Stinger
2009-02-05, 12:52 PM
This might be redundant with a healbot cleric in the party, but I find you can't really have too much healing. I play in a game with a party that contains a cleric, a paladin, AND a multiclass warlord, and I (the cleric) still burn through nearly all of my healing each combat.

Swap some of the leaders out for strikers and the party takes less damage because the enemies die faster, and less healing is needed. If you are missing a role and doubled up on another the party can still be effective, if less flexible.

Artanis
2009-02-05, 01:11 PM
I'm not too good at optimization, but looking through the items in the PHB and AV, several stand out as having potential:

For PHB, Resounding Weapon and Terror Weapon are very Leader-y. The Warlord is a Leader, meaning his job is to help allies and screw with enemies, and both of these put debuffs on enemies. Bashing Shield is the sort of thing that Warlords specialize in.

For AV, Bracers of Mental Might! You say the Warlord's INT is better than his STR? Well, once per encounter, he now gets to use his INT to attack anyways.

Also in AV, Tactician's Armor is heavy-only, but is practically purpose-built for something like a Taclord, so it's at least worth looking at. This is especially true if the Warlord stays out of melee anyways, which would reduce the actual use he gets from AC. There's also several debuff weapons, including Pinning Weapon, Lullaby Weapon, and Reproachful Weapon. Bracers of Respite are good for a Leader, as is Healer's Brooch.