In Which the Geekiness Reaches Toxic Levels

[thebitterguy]

So, we've hit 11th level in the D&D game.

Being a bad tactical player, I've not done too much to maximize Lacklow's combat abilities. That's been being rectified over the last few levels.

So now we're at paragon levels. I've retrained my first level daily ability to be Handspring Assault, which is from Martial Power.

It's quite an awesome power, and fits nicely in with some other abilities I've gotten.

Handspring Assault is a 3W power, which means you do as a base 3 times your weapon's damage.

With bonuses, etc, that comes out to 3d6+8. Now, Handspring assault can be used at the end of a charge, which would allow it to be used as a first attack. As a Rogue, Lacklow has a special ability, First Strike, that allows him to have combat advantage against any creature that hasn't acted in the encounter.

This lets him get a bonus to attack and sneak attack damage (which is 3d8+5 when he's using his First Strike ability).

So, on a first round, if he gets to act before an opponent, he can move twice his speed, get a bonus +3 to attack (on top of his +14), and do up to 55 points of damage, and then bounce back two spots.

This is a good thing.

Of course, there's a million things that could go wrong; he could roll initiative too low to get to the foe, he could miss, he could not be close enough to reach a foe, he could waste it on a minion (a character with one hit point).

But, holy crap, getting that shot in on round one will be awesome. Especially if we fight the party's incredibly annoying yet very persistent nemesis.

See, I tried to warn you.

Comments

[perich.livejournal.com]

he could waste it on a minion (a character with one hit point).

Is this likely to happen? Is the implicit understanding that "any of these guys could be a minion" or that "I'll let you know who the jamokes are and who the big cheese is"?

[thebitterguy]

We had a combat recently where I asked if there was any way to tell who the minions were and who the boss monsters were and it seemed that it was not possible to tell right away.

I don't have either the DMG or the MM, so I don't know if it's possible to see either right off the bat or with a knowledge check of some kind.

[waiwode.livejournal.com]

Strictly speaking it shouldn't be possible to tell, as "minion" status is more of a "game effect" than a visible marker. Like figuring out if that flame spell is *arcane* or *divine* ... sometimes you have to be hit with it first.

[perich.livejournal.com]

Strictly speaking it shouldn't be possible to tell, as "minion" status is more of a "game effect" than a visible marker.

See, I dunno. Creatures in the game can tell the effect of being "marked," for instance - they know that if they don't attack you, they'll suffer penalties and/or damage.

I'm not saying RDL's doing it wrong, as I could see valid arguments either for or against minion-flagging.

[viktor-haag.livejournal.com]

I don't know if it's possible to see either right off the bat or with a knowledge check of some kind

If you read the rules absolutely strictly, a knowledge skill won't help you. "Minion" is a role, like "Skirmisher", "Soldier", "Brute", and so on (DMG 54).

With a KS check, you can get information about a monster's "name, type, and keywords" at DC 15, "powers" at DC 20", and "resistances and vulnerabilities" at DC 25 (with further modifiers for difficulty based on the monster's level). It doesn't mention anything about discerning the monster's role (PHB180).

However, I would be tempted to liberally interpret "name, type, and keywords" as broad enough to also include "level and role", provided the information can be expressed to the asking player in narrative (and not mechanical) terms. I would therefore make this a DC15 task for heroic tier opponents, DC20 for paragon tier opponents, and DC25 for epic tier opponents.

That said:
• KS checks take time. I would allow a PC to make this assessment if given time to observe the opponents ahead of time (hiding in the bushes to watch the troupe coming towards the players' camp), but in the heat of battle, the amount of information you can glean will get shortened appropriately (unless you deliberately hang back to observe).

• If you can do it, so can they. Do you want your opponent's soldiers to make a DC15 Nature check (modified as appr for party level) to be able to tell which one of those heroic types is the Controller? To me, that's now on the table.

• This type of information is really only vitally relevant in the first few seconds of an encounter; given that, I would probably narratively reward parties that prepare for combat, and narratively punish parties that get caught either rushing in, or being ambushed. After all -- the genre seems to make those rewards and punishments, so they seem appropriate to me.

[srhall79.livejournal.com]

Soooo, what paragon path did you pick?

As for picking out minions- well, there was a recent Dragon article on transparency in the game, but it amounts to what works with your group. Keep on the Shadowfell had descriptions for the monsters, iirc, and the minions were usually described as looking a little sickly, with lower quality gear.

[thebitterguy]

Halfling Quickblade. Primarily for the SA bonus on First Strike attacks.