Hot answers tagged powers
24
You were correct -- by the book, you can absolutely use encounter powers outside an encounter. Healing powers are the most common example of this, but there are others -- for example, the bardic power Words of Friendship, which gives you a boost to Diplomacy, is almost always going to be used in non-encounter situations. As @veritascitor points out, an ...
19
No
There's been discussion here to the effect that reliable fireballs simply don't make sense and that it reduces the fighter's uniqueness. Given that dailies are reliable or have miss effects, it's not fair to be able to decide if half-damage is acceptable at this time.
Encounters should not be made reliable: they are usable every combat and while it's ...
15
Any class power can be taken by a character if:
That character can take powers of that class
The class power in question has an explicit level and the character is eligible to take powers of that level. (Either from a newly gained power, or from retraining)
The class power is of the same type (attack or utility)
This goes for Essentials characters ...
15
No. The teleport trick is an immediate reaction, not an immediate interrupt. Since it's a reaction, the entire attack occurs before the pixie can teleport away, and the pixie can still get hit.
For reference: a reaction to a trigger occurs only after the trigger (in this case, an attack) has been completely resolved. An interruption occurs before the ...
14
Present them with challenges that simply using powers from their cards won't solve.
No matter how many times you explain it to them, they will forget now and then. But if they solve a challenge by improvising, next time you present them with a challenge, they will remember to at least consider improvising.
After you are sure they consider improvising in ...
14
Yes, it can. Blasts and bursts extend in the third dimension as they do in the second.
And now for proof.
First, the discussion where this comes up is in dimensional scramble, here:
A Large creature occupies a 2X2X2 cube, and so would be in a burst 1 centred 2 squares up. If any single square (or cube, in this case) of a multi-square creature is in a ...
13
No, you cannot augment the bonus human at-will power at all.
From the glossary definition of Augmentable:
When a racial trait lets an adventurer choose an extra at-will attack power and the adventurer chooses an augmentable at-will attack power, the power loses both the augmentable keyword and its augmentations.
I wouldn't recommend making a house ...
12
Your DM is wrong in your specific case. I'm not sure whether you're saying delaying doesn't end a sustain -- it does -- so I'll cover readying first, then sustaining.
Readying is covered on page 247 of the Rules Compendium and page 291 of the Player's Handbook. Your reading is correct. You would have to sustain before you spent your standard action to ...
12
No,
Player's Handbook pg 225
An attack that does not deal damage still does not deal damage on a critical hit.
This is also part of the DDI definition of Critical Hit.
12
You do not use actions to make the secondary attack.
The secondary attack happens automatically when you sustain the power:
Sustain Minor: The zone persists until the end of your next turn, and you make the secondary attack.
There's no other way to make the secondary attack (it only happens when you sustain, and you can only sustain once per round).
12
In an average deadlift, a character with +3 Might and Inhuman Strength have the same level of capability.
However, that is nowhere near the whole story.
First of all, the game doesn't care about the average deadlift. They only care about deadlifts that might advance the story - and in those cases there is going to be a choice about whether or not to spend ...
12
Warlords have Opening Shove (from the Martial Power book), which does, in fact, push.
Warlords who use a two-handed spear or polearm can also take the Longhand Student feat, which adds push 1 to Viper Strike. Warlords who use a greatbow or longbow can take the Adamant Arrow Student feat to add push 1 with Paint the Bullseye.
If none of those meet your ...
11
The text in the compendium agrees with the HotFL with the following note:
"Update (9/30/2011) Updated in Class Compendium"
That seems pretty clearly to me that there is errata in the class compendium that updates the PHB1 power to the HotFL text.
Checking the Class Compendium for the Scoundrel Rogue (an update to the PHB1 classes), it agrees with the ...
10
The hypnotism power's hit line reads as follows:
Choose one of the following effects:
The target uses a free action to make a melee basic attack against a creature with a +4 bonus to the attack roll.
You slide the target up to 3 squares.
(HOTFL 205)
This means that you can only cause the target to attack or to move, not both. The attack ...
10
There are really too many options to list specifics. This problem can be addressed through basic mechanics available in some form to most classes and available to all classes through feat trees (check out unusual weapons available through feats) and items. I'll discuss each mechanic and give a level-5-or-below example of a power for each of them.
Anything ...
10
There's a few bits of rules to sift through here. These quotes are from the D&D Compendium.
Direct the Strike provokes opportunity attacks
Ranged and Area Powers Provoke: If an enemy adjacent to you uses a ranged power or an area power, you can make an opportunity attack against that enemy.
Direct the Strike is a ranged power - you're targeting ...
9
A vexing challenge to be sure, I struggle with this myself. Although as DM's we don't want to kill off the party too often, it is frustrating to realize that a carefully crafted challenge turned out to be too easy because you neglected to use some of their powers!
Here are a couple things I've done to address this:
Only use recent stat blocks: I find ...
9
As printed they would not. The spell explicitly states that damage is dealt under one of the following conditions:
A creature starts its turn adjacent to the wall.
A creature moves into the wall's space.
A creature starts its turn within the wall's space.
None of those three things has occurred if the creature is pushed/pulled/slid out of the fire before ...
9
Dresden Files is pretty tracking-light compared to D&D; the only character assets that really need tracking are the Stress tracks (which work fine on character sheets) and Fate points.
For my games I've been using the following:
A stack of poker chips for Fate points. This makes it easy to keep the Fate economy moving quickly; I can take them when spent, ...
8
Oddly, the answer appears to be No.
Yes, you may take an Opportunity Attack against them.
Opportunity Attacks are defined on Page 246 of the Rules Compendium. It specifically mentions that the target triggering the attack must be adjacent to you.
EDIT - Upon further review, I must reverse myself.
Rules Compendium p201 defines Adjacent Squares and includes ...
8
Powers in 4E are "rules exceptions"... the power mechanics as a generality replace, not augment, any other mechanical material. Unless and until WOTC specifically says otherwise, this replacement principle applies. This replacement principle is explicit on PHB1 page 11:
Simple Rules, Many Exceptions
Every class, race, feat, power, and monster in the ...
8
The summoned creature is a valid target of such effects however it has no inherent ability to use basic attacks so the end result is not favorable for you.
The attacks allowed to each summoned creature are as listed for each power. Currently I am aware of none that grant basic attacks. Summoned creatures are not granted any basic attacks by default. ...
8
It appears to me, that you can only use the attack power once per round.
The effect says 'each time... you can'. Meaning it's an option available to you. But the attack power itself means that it can only happen once per round.
I would suggest eratta on this, as it seems poorly worded. :)
However it might be correct because the effect is the effect that ...
8
Maybe
Generally you can, but there's one big exception. You can only ever use one free action to make an attack per turn, regardless from what source that attack comes.
Free Action[DDI]:
Free actions take almost no time or effort. You can take as many free actions as you want during your or another combatant’s turn. There is an exception to that rule: ...
8
Because Word of Life is an immediate reaction rather than an immediate interrupt, your ally is already at 0 or fewer hit points (and dying, unconscious, prone, etc.) if you choose to use it. After you use it (assuming they spend the healing surge), they're no longer dying. It doesn't interrupt dying, it just ends the dying condition by removing the state ...
7
It is a negligible issue.
The only powers that matter during a rest are encounter powers. Daily powers will not refresh. At-Will powers cannot deplete.
The rules specify what happens if you use an encounter power during a short rest (you need to rest again to refresh it), note that it does not say that your rest is invalidated.
Usage of non-encounter ...
7
Yes to the first two questions.
From the implement description in the glossary.
If you wield a magic implement, you can add its enhancement bonus to the attack rolls and the damage rolls of implement powers you use through it.
All of the damages you ask about are damage rolls of the Wall of Fire power. They don't need to specify that you add the ...
7
There seems to be a conflict here. The WOTC online compendium Psion entry gives a different ruling:
When a racial trait grants you an at-will attack power of your choice
and you choose an augmentable at-will attack power, the power loses
its augmentations. However, the power does not lose the augmentable
keyword. This means the power is ...
7
Ardent
Given a choice between psion and Ardent, given that your other leader is avoiding healing (a fairly decent choice for bard, actually. They've got better things to do with their time) a second-leader is always a good choice. Ardents also pair well with fighters: you can form a self-sufficient bubble with the fighter, reducing the distractions placed ...
7
If all else fails, make at-will power cards for the common skill actions each player can take based on which of their skills are highest. Maybe even a generic power card that says "At-Will: Use your imagination." It may seem silly but if they are focused on their power cards that will be an ever-present reminder that they are playing an RPG, not a video ...
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