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There is a warlord with Resourceful Presence in a 4e D&D game I'm DM'ing. Resourceful Presence says:

Ally who sees you and spends an action point to attack gets damage bonus (1/2 level + Int mod); if attack hits no targets, ally gains temp hp (1/2 level + Cha mod)

There is also a ranger in the party who has Twin Strike, which is one power with two attacks. If the ranger uses an action point and attacks with Twin Strike, how do I treat the attacks considering Resourceful Presence? Do I add the damage bonus twice if both attacks hit? Do I double the regained temp hp if both miss? What happens if one misses and one hits?

I feel like the bonus damage/temp hp should only be counted once because none of the other party members have an opportunity for double damage/temp hp, but that causes major problems if one Twin Strike attack hits and the other misses. Does the PC get bonus damage or temp hp?

It's early in this game and I have a feeling the warlord/Twin Strike issue is going to come up again (e.g. Commander's Strike). I'd really like to get my brains around this so I can be consistent with the players throughout the game. Help appreciated.

Thanks.

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Multi-attacks or area attacks must miss all targets to receive the consolation prize. However, all the damage from a multi-attack or area attack is buffed.

Twin strike explicitly notes:

Attack: Strength vs. AC (melee; main weapon and off-hand weapon) or Dexterity vs. AC (ranged), two attacks

Therefore, the action point indeed activates the attack power, which means the attack as power, gets a buff.

However, your quotation of the resourceful presence feature was wrong.

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.

Therefore, you must miss all targets with your attack to get the THP. However, the damage of each attack is enhanced as per normal. "That attack" is referring to the use of the attack power, not the individual attack rolls within the power. (See buffs that provide bonus to "next attack roll" for difference.)

As an aside, you will absolutely want to clarify the one-attack/two-attacks ruling because you must make the same ruling for your elites and solos multi-attacking. They will run into a not-particularly-fun punishment cycle if you rule that a multi-attack counts as two-attacks, but that does slightly debuff twin-strike.

Commander's strike has no interaction with twin-strike, as commander's strike enables a melee basic attack.

Also, nerfing [Reducing the capabilities of via post de-facto ruling (see:hitting with a nerf bat)] twinstrike becuase of this is silly. Twin-strike is absolutely a good power, and is one of the best in the game if taken advantage of properly. However, the character is a striker. Nerfing a striker to be a ... non-striker is all kinds of silly. If you would prefer the character be a single-attack striker, come by chat and we can discuss your requirements as well as the player's requirements.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Thanks, Brian, but I'm still confused. First, my quote wasn't wrong. The character sheet in Character Builder, at least in the older version I have, says "targets." Nevertheless, I get the point: both attacks must miss to get the THP. But I'm not clear on whether you're saying, if both attacks hit, that the ranger gets twice the bonus. If not, and two hits simply means one bonus, does that mean if one misses and one hits that the ranger doesn't get the bonus damage OR the THP. Sorry, the buffs/debuffs got me mixed up. Thanks again for your help. \$\endgroup\$
    – Lechlerfan
    May 26, 2012 at 20:42
  • \$\begingroup\$ Oh, and I'm embarrassed to say, I have no idea what nerfing is. \$\endgroup\$
    – Lechlerfan
    May 26, 2012 at 20:43
  • \$\begingroup\$ Is it clearer? For each attack that hits, the damage expression of the attack is modified. If both attacks miss, the ranger gets THP. \$\endgroup\$ May 26, 2012 at 20:54

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