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Foucault
2008-10-08, 11:04 AM
While looking at the D&DI Compendium this morning I found the following excerpts in the Class descriptions of the Marital Classes. I couldn't find these sections in my dead tree copies, or the Errata released in September. I also couldn't find any similarly unrecognizable content in any of the Arcane or Divine Class descriptions. Along with the mention of some new power keywords in the Fighter and Rogue sections this leads me to believe this is Martial Power content. So I thought I'd share it and see if people think it is from there and what they think of it. Without further ado:

Fighter
BATTLERAGER VIGOR
Each time an enemy hits you with a melee or a close attack, you gain temporary hit points equal to your Constitution modifier (after the attack is resolved).

When you gain temporary hit points by hitting with an attack that has the invigorating keyword, those temporary hit points stack with any other temporary hit points you already have.

When wearing light armor or chainmail, you gain a +1 bonus to damage rolls with melee and close weapon attacks whenever you have temporary hit points. This bonus increases to +2 if you’re wielding an axe, a hammer, a mace, or a pick.

Ranger
BEAST MASTERY
You gain a beast companion, chosen from one of these categories: bear, boar, cat, lizard, raptor, serpent, spider, or wolf. These categories do not describe specific animals, but rather groups of similarly themed creatures in the D&D world. You decide the creature’s relevant details— its species, physical details, and so forth—making sure they are appropriate for its category and the campaign.

For example, if your character hails from a swampy region, your lizard companion might be a crocodile. The lizard companion of a ranger from a different region might be a giant monitor lizard or a drake. A beast companion’s species doesn’t affect its game statistics, which are based on its category and level.

You and your beast companion work so well together that the creature is almost an extension of you. Using your actions in combat, you control your beast companion by issuing it commands.

Beast Mastery also alters your Hunter’s Quarry class feature. When you use Hunter’s Quarry, your quarry can be either the enemy nearest to you that you can see or the enemy nearest to your beast companion that you can see. You or your beast companion can deal the extra damage from Hunter’s Quarry, but only one of you can deal this extra damage per round.

Your beast companion is considered a creature and an ally and can be affected by powers. A cleric can heal it with healing word, a warlord can give it a melee basic attack with commander’s strike, and so forth. You and your beast companion are treated as separate creatures.

You can have only one beast companion at a time. You can dismiss your beast companion at any time, but gaining a new one isn’t a simple task.The link between a ranger and his or her beast companion is not one of master and servant but of two close friends.

As part of the training you underwent that allowed you to form a close bond with a beast, you learned the Raise Beast Companion ritual, which allows you to raise your companion from the dead, even if you are otherwise unable to master and perform rituals.

Rogue
RUTHLESS RUFFIAN
You are proficient with the club and the mace, and you can use those weapons with Sneak Attack or any rogue power that normally requires a light blade. If you use a club or a mace to deliver an attack that has the rattling keyword, add your Strength modifier to the damage roll.

Warlord
BRAVURA PRESENCE
When an ally who can see you spends an action point to take an extra action and uses the action to make an attack, the ally can choose to take advantage of this feature before the attack roll. If the ally chooses to do so and the attack hits, the ally can either make a basic attack or take a move action after the attack as a free action. If the attack misses, the ally grants combat advantage to all enemies until the end of his or her next turn.
[...]
RESOURCEFUL PRESENCE
When an ally who can see you spends an action point to take an extra action and uses the action to make an attack, that attack gains a bonus to damage equal to one-half your level + your Intelligence modifier. If the attack hits no target, the ally gains temporary hit points equal to one-half your level + your Charisma modifier.

Note: These were all found in their respective class descriptions between 10 and 11 Eastern time this morning and are still available at the time of this posting. Just in case they disappear.

Starbuck_II
2008-10-08, 11:18 AM
I think the Ranger part will be from Martial power (the one that is supposed to have animal companion rules for Ranger).

Maybe they added that stuff to DDI before the book comes out.

I love the mace/club because it is very Rogue-que to allow it.

I think these are alternate class features for the classes:

Fighter give up Combat Superiority and gain Battlerager Vigor.

Or maybe feats that give new class features?!

Mando Knight
2008-10-08, 11:28 AM
I do believe that this is Martial Power content... watch out, it may disappear before the end of the month!

Battlerager Vigor is interesting... it gives the Fighter far more HP than normal, and makes chainmail almost worthwhile...

Asbestos
2008-10-08, 11:52 AM
Battlerager Vigor is interesting... it gives the Fighter far more HP than normal, and makes chainmail almost worthwhile...
It seems to seriously encourage wearing lighter armor since you gain extra HP from being hit and you need to have extra HP to get that extra damage out of your weapons. The weapons that give the +2 bonus push it further down the low-AC path since those weapons are based on con and str, rather than dex, for powers. Against minions this guy would be a brick wall so long as his CON modifier is higher than the flat damage rate that the minions are dishing out. It should be noted though, that it does not say that the extra HP granted from being hit stack with each other, meaning that an individual with 18 CON (+4 modifier) being attacked by Giant Rats (do 3 damage) would probably not be a wellspring of infinite HPs. Instead I can see it as...
1) Rat hits: does 3 damage
2) Fighter: Takes 3 damage, gains 4 temporary hp
3) Rat hits: does 3 damage
4) Fighter: Takes 3 damage, has 1 temporary hp remaining...a,b, or c.
4a) 1 temporary hp is replaced by 4 temporary hp
4b) 1 temporary hp stacks with 4 temporary hp, PC now has 5 temporary hp, PC gets infinitely healthy as more rats hit.
4c) Temporary hp is not added until more actual hp damage is dealt, PC still only has 1 temporary hp.

Of these, I think that 4a or 4c is the most likely, with my guess being 4a. This means, that after taking 3 damage initially from the first attack the fighter is now completely immune to further HP damage from all future rat attacks. The fighter could stroll naked through a horde of giant rats, get bit 10^99 times and yet only have the tiniest of actual wounds after the encounter. 4c would still mean that the fighter is taking 2 damage every other attack, assuming all attacks hit. 4c is less powerful, but still potentially attractive, though not as much.

Against minions and some standard opponents this build could be a pretty decent fighter build, so long as your CON is in the stratosphere, but against harder hitting foes I can see it being a serious disadvantage. On the plus side Brutes, who are the hardest hitting, tend to have crummier to-hits than the others.


As for the other features...
Bravura presence is interesting in that the effect can either be awesome or awful, depending on whether the attack hit or not.
Resourceful presence is pretty much a mix of the current Warlord features, which is great if you're playing a warlord that's got decent Int and Cha scores as opposed to only one or the other. Still, Tactical Presence is the only one that boosts the attack roll, which will likely keep it more attractive for the optimizers.

The rogue one is nice and flavorful, especially for those that want to sneak up and knock people out rather than shank them.

As for the Beast Mastery... I'm a little confused. It seems to be saying that the beast companion is basically another PC with its own actions and such. However, doesn't this go away from one of the stated goals of 4e? That everyone be able to do the same amount in combat? If the ranger has his turn... and the beast has its own... that player is getting 2x more turns than everyone else.
EDIT: Whups, missed this part...

Using your actions in combat, you control your beast companion by issuing it commands.
So I guess that solves that. Still odd though I think, does this mean that the DM will have to adjust encounters to account for the beast? or that they don't because the beast isn't adding any extra actions?

RTGoodman
2008-10-08, 12:36 PM
4a) 1 temporary hp is replaced by 4 temporary hp

This one. Temporary HP don't stack, they overlap, taking the largest value,


As for the Beast Mastery... I'm a little confused. It seems to be saying that the beast companion is basically another PC with its own actions and such. However, doesn't this go away from one of the stated goals of 4e? That everyone be able to do the same amount in combat? If the ranger has his turn... and the beast has its own... that player is getting 2x more turns than everyone else.
EDIT: Whups, missed this part...

So I guess that solves that. Still odd though I think, does this mean that the DM will have to adjust encounters to account for the beast? or that they don't because the beast isn't adding any extra actions?

Think of it this way - the Beast Master Ranger is going to work the same way as an Archery Ranger, but instead of a weapon he has an animal. His powers are probably like, "Call the Hunt - Ranger At-Will 1 - Your animal companion makes a melee basic attack with a +2 power bonus on the attack roll."


I'm probably gonna have to go over there and look about for powers and such. I LIKE the D&D Compendium, so I'll probably be paying for it, especially if it continues to include material for books that I don't own.

JaxGaret
2008-10-08, 12:36 PM
So I guess that solves that. Still odd though I think, does this mean that the DM will have to adjust encounters to account for the beast? or that they don't because the beast isn't adding any extra actions?

The DM shouldn't have to adjust anything to compensate, it's a class feature of the Ranger that presumably will be balanced to the other choices.

Asbestos
2008-10-08, 01:57 PM
Somehow its taken this long for the memory of 2nd edition kits to resurface for me...

nobodez
2008-10-09, 01:30 PM
Screw Kits, I can finally play my Blood Elf Hunter Eladrin Ranger, esp since we'll still have access to the bow or melee powers. This looks to be a good addition to the D&D 4e ruleset.