Yakk
2008-08-14, 03:51 PM
Originally posted here: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4708965&postcount=26
Sometimes you have a small group of players. 4e is based around teamwork, so this doesn't work all that well.
One solution is to add a DM-PC -- but that can steal the spotlight, in both combat and social situations.
Another is to have the PC run more than 1 character -- but that also causes problems in social situations, and can dilute the experience of the player, as their attention is split.
Thus the idea of a Companion. A Companion is an NPC, clearly a second-class being (more of a sidekick than a hero). They exist in a middle ground between the simplicity of a monster, enemy of standard NPC, and the complexity of a PC.
This is a Bear Companion, written to be the side-kick of a Ranger PC in a solo party. It fills the party role of Defender in a slightly different way than the standard Fighter (but you can see powers inspired by the Fighter).
Generally, I'd let the PC control the Companion in combat, and sometimes dictate what it does out of combat during roleplaying situations (but, by default, let the PC control the Companion).
Bear Companion
Str: 16+L/2
Con: 15+L/2
Int: 4+L/4
Dex: 13+L/2
Wis: 13+L/2
Cha: 8+L/5
Initiative: Level*.8+2
Senses: Perception: Level *.8+6, Insight: Level*3/4+2, Low-light vision.
Move: 6 at Heroic, 7 at Paragon, 8 at Epic tier.
Trained Skills: Nature(Wis), Perception(Wis), Athletics(Str), Endurance(Con)
Defenses:
AC: 16+Level
Fortitude: 14+Level
Reflex: 12+Level
Will: 12+Level
HP: 25+9*Level
Powers and Features:
You Cannot Ignore A Bear: The Bear Companion Marks any opponent it attempts to attack until the end of the Bear'ss next turn. In addition to the standard Mark rules (Ie: one mark per creature, Marked creatures get a -2 on any attack that does not include the Bear), as an Immediate Interrupt, the Bear can attack any Marked opponent who shifts or makes an attack that does not include the Bear while adjacent to the Bear.
Overbearing Blow: If the Bear hits on an opportunity attack triggered by movement, the bear may make a free Level+5 attack vs Fortitude. On a hit with this secondary attack, the target is knocked prone.
Bear Toughness: Bears have 5+Con modifier healing surges per day.
Attacks:
Basic Attack: Claw, Standard action, at-will. Level+7 vs AC. 1d8+Str damage, increased to 1d10 at level 6, 1d12 at level 11, 3d4 at level 16, 2d8 at level 21, and 3d6 at level 26.
Gained at level 2:
Melee Attack: Massive Smash, Standard action, Daily. Level+5 vs Fortitude. 2d6+Strength damage, and target is pushed (Con modifier) squares and knocked prone. Damage increases by 1d6 at level 7, 12, 17, 22 and 27. Half damage on a miss, and push 1 square.
Gained at level 3:
Melee Attack: Bear Hug, Minor action, Recharge 56. May only be used immediately after hitting a target. Make a Grab (Level+5 vs Reflex) as a Minor Action.
Gained at level 4:
Close Blast 2 Attack: Roar, Standard action, Level+3 vs Will, Daily. Enemies are Dazed until end of the Bear's next turn. Increases to Close Blast 3 at level 14, and Close Blast 4 at level 24.
Gained at level 5:
Powerful Swipe, Standard Action, At-will. Same to-hit and damage as Claw, but pushes target back 1 square. Push-back increases to 2 at level 15, and 3 at level 25.
6/7: Previous powers are upgraded.
Gained at level 8:
Second Wind. As the PC power.
Gained at level 9:
Bear Rage: Gain a +1 bonus to hit, and +2 bonus to damage, when Bloodied.
Gained at level 10:
Unstoppable: Daily, Free Reaction, when damaged to below bloodied threshold. Gain regeneration (con bonus) while bloodied until the end of the encounter.
11/12: upgrades of previous powers.
Gained at level 13:
Flurry of Fur: At-will, Standard action. Same to-hit and damage as Claw. If you miss, make a basic melee attack against a different adjacent target. The Bear may not Mark the target of the secondary attack (the "miss" attack).
Bear Power: All Bear attacks are now considered "high crit".
14/15/16/17: Auto-upgrades of previous powers.
Gained at level 18:
Unstoppable is now an encounter power. Upgrades to 10+Con bonus regeneration at level 28.
Gained at level 19:
May use at-will powers in opportunity or "You Cannot Ignore A Bear" attacks.
Gained at level 20:
You Can't Keep A Good Bear Down: The first time in a day the Bear is reduced to 0 HP or less or killed, the Bear is healed to full HP (and brought back to life), all negative status effects are stripped, the Bear gains Regeneration (Con stat) until the end of the encounter, and finally the Bear gains an action point.
21/22: auto-upgrade
Gained at Level 23:
Vicious Blows: The Bear now crits on a 19 or 20.
Squeeze: Minor action, at most once per round. Level+5 vs Fortitude against a target that is grabbed. Deal 2d8+Str damage.
24/25/26/27/28: auto-upgrades of previous powers (really!)
Gained at level 29:
Roar as an encounter power that deals 3d6+Con modifier damage. Bear Hug as an at-will power.
Gained at level 30:
Great Ghost Bear: Daily utility power, Standard Action, Stance. Bear gains 1 size category, +10 power bonus to all damage rolls, a +5 bonus to all saves, a +10 power bonus to the Intimidate skill, and 150 temporary HP. In the Great Ghost Bear stance, the Bear deals crits on a 17-20, and all crits stun the target until the end of their Bear's next turn. This lasts 5 minutes, until the end of the encounter, or until the temporary HP are removed.
I don't think that will overshadow a well built PC, especially one built as a striker. It is a serious tank of a Defender, however.
It is harder on bookkeeping than a standard NPC (it peaks at around 5 powers whose status needs remembering at once), but is simpler than the average PC.
It's powers where often inspired by the Fighter, and various Paragon and Epic paths for PCs. It's base stats and mechanics are based off the monster building mechanics for a Soldier NPC.
A Ranger plus this Bear would produce about a 2 character party. Have it advance at the same rate as the Ranger PC. Hand out treasure as if the Ranger PC was fighting solo (as the Bear has no need of treasure), but include extra healing sources (potions, salves, etc) or some other way to heal up between fights.
...
Another idea put forward was that of a Mute Warforged Paladin or Cleric. That would fill the Leader slot nicely, and also have the nice properties of a character whose lack of activity during conversations works out.
Anyone care to tear my Bear Companion design apart?
Sometimes you have a small group of players. 4e is based around teamwork, so this doesn't work all that well.
One solution is to add a DM-PC -- but that can steal the spotlight, in both combat and social situations.
Another is to have the PC run more than 1 character -- but that also causes problems in social situations, and can dilute the experience of the player, as their attention is split.
Thus the idea of a Companion. A Companion is an NPC, clearly a second-class being (more of a sidekick than a hero). They exist in a middle ground between the simplicity of a monster, enemy of standard NPC, and the complexity of a PC.
This is a Bear Companion, written to be the side-kick of a Ranger PC in a solo party. It fills the party role of Defender in a slightly different way than the standard Fighter (but you can see powers inspired by the Fighter).
Generally, I'd let the PC control the Companion in combat, and sometimes dictate what it does out of combat during roleplaying situations (but, by default, let the PC control the Companion).
Bear Companion
Str: 16+L/2
Con: 15+L/2
Int: 4+L/4
Dex: 13+L/2
Wis: 13+L/2
Cha: 8+L/5
Initiative: Level*.8+2
Senses: Perception: Level *.8+6, Insight: Level*3/4+2, Low-light vision.
Move: 6 at Heroic, 7 at Paragon, 8 at Epic tier.
Trained Skills: Nature(Wis), Perception(Wis), Athletics(Str), Endurance(Con)
Defenses:
AC: 16+Level
Fortitude: 14+Level
Reflex: 12+Level
Will: 12+Level
HP: 25+9*Level
Powers and Features:
You Cannot Ignore A Bear: The Bear Companion Marks any opponent it attempts to attack until the end of the Bear'ss next turn. In addition to the standard Mark rules (Ie: one mark per creature, Marked creatures get a -2 on any attack that does not include the Bear), as an Immediate Interrupt, the Bear can attack any Marked opponent who shifts or makes an attack that does not include the Bear while adjacent to the Bear.
Overbearing Blow: If the Bear hits on an opportunity attack triggered by movement, the bear may make a free Level+5 attack vs Fortitude. On a hit with this secondary attack, the target is knocked prone.
Bear Toughness: Bears have 5+Con modifier healing surges per day.
Attacks:
Basic Attack: Claw, Standard action, at-will. Level+7 vs AC. 1d8+Str damage, increased to 1d10 at level 6, 1d12 at level 11, 3d4 at level 16, 2d8 at level 21, and 3d6 at level 26.
Gained at level 2:
Melee Attack: Massive Smash, Standard action, Daily. Level+5 vs Fortitude. 2d6+Strength damage, and target is pushed (Con modifier) squares and knocked prone. Damage increases by 1d6 at level 7, 12, 17, 22 and 27. Half damage on a miss, and push 1 square.
Gained at level 3:
Melee Attack: Bear Hug, Minor action, Recharge 56. May only be used immediately after hitting a target. Make a Grab (Level+5 vs Reflex) as a Minor Action.
Gained at level 4:
Close Blast 2 Attack: Roar, Standard action, Level+3 vs Will, Daily. Enemies are Dazed until end of the Bear's next turn. Increases to Close Blast 3 at level 14, and Close Blast 4 at level 24.
Gained at level 5:
Powerful Swipe, Standard Action, At-will. Same to-hit and damage as Claw, but pushes target back 1 square. Push-back increases to 2 at level 15, and 3 at level 25.
6/7: Previous powers are upgraded.
Gained at level 8:
Second Wind. As the PC power.
Gained at level 9:
Bear Rage: Gain a +1 bonus to hit, and +2 bonus to damage, when Bloodied.
Gained at level 10:
Unstoppable: Daily, Free Reaction, when damaged to below bloodied threshold. Gain regeneration (con bonus) while bloodied until the end of the encounter.
11/12: upgrades of previous powers.
Gained at level 13:
Flurry of Fur: At-will, Standard action. Same to-hit and damage as Claw. If you miss, make a basic melee attack against a different adjacent target. The Bear may not Mark the target of the secondary attack (the "miss" attack).
Bear Power: All Bear attacks are now considered "high crit".
14/15/16/17: Auto-upgrades of previous powers.
Gained at level 18:
Unstoppable is now an encounter power. Upgrades to 10+Con bonus regeneration at level 28.
Gained at level 19:
May use at-will powers in opportunity or "You Cannot Ignore A Bear" attacks.
Gained at level 20:
You Can't Keep A Good Bear Down: The first time in a day the Bear is reduced to 0 HP or less or killed, the Bear is healed to full HP (and brought back to life), all negative status effects are stripped, the Bear gains Regeneration (Con stat) until the end of the encounter, and finally the Bear gains an action point.
21/22: auto-upgrade
Gained at Level 23:
Vicious Blows: The Bear now crits on a 19 or 20.
Squeeze: Minor action, at most once per round. Level+5 vs Fortitude against a target that is grabbed. Deal 2d8+Str damage.
24/25/26/27/28: auto-upgrades of previous powers (really!)
Gained at level 29:
Roar as an encounter power that deals 3d6+Con modifier damage. Bear Hug as an at-will power.
Gained at level 30:
Great Ghost Bear: Daily utility power, Standard Action, Stance. Bear gains 1 size category, +10 power bonus to all damage rolls, a +5 bonus to all saves, a +10 power bonus to the Intimidate skill, and 150 temporary HP. In the Great Ghost Bear stance, the Bear deals crits on a 17-20, and all crits stun the target until the end of their Bear's next turn. This lasts 5 minutes, until the end of the encounter, or until the temporary HP are removed.
I don't think that will overshadow a well built PC, especially one built as a striker. It is a serious tank of a Defender, however.
It is harder on bookkeeping than a standard NPC (it peaks at around 5 powers whose status needs remembering at once), but is simpler than the average PC.
It's powers where often inspired by the Fighter, and various Paragon and Epic paths for PCs. It's base stats and mechanics are based off the monster building mechanics for a Soldier NPC.
A Ranger plus this Bear would produce about a 2 character party. Have it advance at the same rate as the Ranger PC. Hand out treasure as if the Ranger PC was fighting solo (as the Bear has no need of treasure), but include extra healing sources (potions, salves, etc) or some other way to heal up between fights.
...
Another idea put forward was that of a Mute Warforged Paladin or Cleric. That would fill the Leader slot nicely, and also have the nice properties of a character whose lack of activity during conversations works out.
Anyone care to tear my Bear Companion design apart?