[4e] The Reactive Character

[LibraryOgre]

Just a mechanical concept I was playing with on the way in to work, and wanted to know if any of the mech-fu people could validate or destroy the idea.

What I've noticed with my Barbarian (Cathoris, a shamelessly stolen name) is that I wind up falling back on my At-Wills. Sometimes, it's because I've burned through my encounter powers and the fight is dragging. Sometimes, I need the tactical ability to shift two squares, or the extra d6 of damage more than the 3 points of healing for someone else.

What I was interested in, however, is could a character (any class) be made whose abilities are almost entirely reactive? They've got the usual at-wills, but their encounter, daily, and utility powers are designed mostly around immediate reactions or interrupts.

Doable? Infeasible?

[dsmiles]

That's a pretty nifty concept. I'm keeping a close eye on this thread.

[Haberdashery]

Yeah, actually, that's pretty easy to achieve as an Artificer, and considered one of the optimal ways of playing one. Artificer at-wills are amazing, so they'll use Magic Weapon on their turn, and then most of their encounter/daily powers will be immediate reactions or interrupts. When I was playing an Artificer, I pictured it sorta like a gunslinger--I could shoot normally on my turn, but then every other round that was not my turn I could use my lightning fast trigger fingers to react to the enemy's attacks.

[Hzurr]

Rangers and Bards are the two classes I've noticed that have the most reaction and interupt powers. (Actually, it seems that a common tactic for ther archer Ranger is to use Twin Strike as the only normal power, and everything else as reaction powers.

The difficulty with this type of character, is that you need to be very, very familiar with your character, so there aren't awkward situations of "Wait, the guy that was attacked two turns ago...I'm going to use a power so he/she doesn't take that damage, and the villain gets moved over here, and..." This type of thing can really slow the game down.

[Sipex]

And he shall be called "The Slayer of PbP games".

edit: Yeah, ranger seems to be a good choice for this. I've actually fiddled with it before using a ranger who fights from maximum range with a greatbow. Was interesting.

[Kurald Galain]

The lazylord also has some interesting abilities in this area, like Friendly Fire. Probably not enough to justify being a purely reactive warlord, but enough for a hybrid or multiclass. As an added bonus, most or all lazylord powers don't require strength anyway.

[DragonBaneDM]

I'm gonna second Archer Ranger, I basically play this build.

Warning Shot, as far as I know, is the only Reactionary At-Will in the game.

EDIT: The phrase "Riposte Strike you idiot!" popped into my head as soon as I posted.

Disruptive Strike, Defensive Volley, Spitting Cobra Stance, Tiger's Reflex, it all SCREAMS attack three times during a round.

Get a friend who likes to push, makes Warning Shot decent as heck. All of your Utilities can be Reactionary with this class.

[Jaidu]

My hybrid Warlord/Barbarian has only reactive powers for encounter powers, and relies on charging with howling strike, vanguard weapon, and horned helm for DPR during most turns.

Some of his powers, at level 9:
Curtain of Steel (Barbarian 7)
No Gambit is Wasted (Warlord 3)
Power with a name I can't remember (You make a melee basic attack and an ally moves 5 and makes one as well, but I can't recall the name.) (Warlord 1)

It's been pretty effective so far, especially since Curtain of Steel really hurts and No Gambit is Wasted is fun for allies. The only trouble I've had is that often the trigger for No Gambit is Wasted doesn't happen, since my allies are usually either hitting multiple targets or boosting their accuracy to where they will usually hit when they attack.

[Grynning]

I had a friend who did a Hybrid Warlord/Bard using Ranged Weapon powers from both classes, and all of his encounter and daily powers were out of turn reactions or interrupts. He had a pretty good time with it.

The Bard ranged powers, like Arrow of Warning (Daily 1) and Rhyme of the Blood-Seeking Blade (Encounter 3), are especially good; if you don't want to go hybrid Bard is what I'd recommend.

[RagnaroksChosen]

I believe it is class based. Some classes can, others can't.

Rangers are realy good reactionists, I think rogues can be.
Sorcs yes,
Paladins yes,
warlocks no(though im not 100% sure.)
etc.

I don't think Rune priests have any reactive powers. Nor seekers for that matter.

Though I belive the build is completly doable. There are also builds like the rogue retributive strike builds that kinda do similar stuff. As well as catch 22 builds.

[Meta]

I think it's a sweet idea but you've got the one reaction/interrupt a round rule as a major hurdle. i can think of a few things that overrule it, but it's a small list I believe. You might end up with rounds where you wish could use 3 and can't and rounds where none trigger

[Crossfiyah]

Warlords are perfect for this build, because their stuff is all about helping allies or protecting them from bad situations.