Are you still talking about the bard? Because bards get Ritual Caster as a bonus feat anyway.

[Edited on June 30, 2009 at 5:02 PM. Reason : Peace, we outta here.]

6/30/2009 5:02:20 PM

according to the Official DnD character creator i get to pick ritual casting or alchemy. Unless i maybe did something wrong.

6/30/2009 5:08:16 PM

Oh, that's right, you do get the option. I'd probably still stick with Ritual Caster for the bard, since you'd get some bard-specific rituals. That Bardic Training class feature also lets you cast a certain number of bardic rituals per day without expending components. Seems like a bard would get a lot more mileage out of that than alchemy.

[Edited on June 30, 2009 at 5:14 PM. Reason : ...]

6/30/2009 5:12:18 PM

word. I also get to pick any level 1 at will from any other class. Also op as heck. It seems like they gave bards a bunch of stuff in 4e to get people to play them.

6/30/2009 5:19:12 PM

This month's Dragon has an article about how boss bards are and includes some new paragon paths for them. Worth a look!

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/drcact/2009June

But what is this bonus at-will power thing? Are you playing a half-elf?

[Edited on June 30, 2009 at 5:25 PM. Reason : <3 misdirected mark]

6/30/2009 5:20:35 PM

yea the extra at will is half elf. The party im in is going to be striker and tank heavy so im gonna be a valorous bard and hand out temp hit points. Gotta figure out what melee wep to pick

7/1/2009 1:10:01 PM

You clearly need a songblade! If you can't start with one, though, take a longsword. The bard is proficient with it, it has the best proficiency bonus of any of the one-handed melee weapons, it has the versatile property, and it's in the heavy blade group just like most songblades. Any feat choices or other tweaks you make to get the most out of your longsword will carry right over to your songblade.

7/1/2009 1:34:37 PM

are you guys talking about warcraft?

7/3/2009 3:50:28 PM

rofl

7/3/2009 4:56:20 PM

We didn't play on Sunday.

I understand that there's a Character Builder update today, though! With updated support for hybrid classes! Anyone checked that out yet?

7/6/2009 9:01:19 AM

bards are op as heck. We started this new campaign and it started out with Kobalds attacking this village we were in. Easy kills, of course, but I rolled a 32 diplomacy +rp bonus to convince one to lay down his arms, and now i have a kobald minion. Later on we found the main kobald camp, so I walked out into a clearing near their tents with the intention of coming to another diplomatic solution so we could figure out why they were attacking the village. I gave a pretty impassioned speech about working together for a peaceful solution etc... etc.. and then rolled a 1. The guards sounded the alarm and the 3 of us + npc tank had to fight off 22 kobalds. The npc tank got KOed and one of the rangers got close. Since they were kobalds pretty much if you hit you were guaranteed to bloody if not kill them, so my Virtue of Valor came in pretty handy. Tossing out temp hp like candy.

Later after talking to the DM he said he had kind of built the encounter for the 2 rangers to go in and stealth kill the guards. This made the failed negotiation attempt even better.

7/6/2009 9:40:11 AM

That sounds sweet. We had a guy playing a bard when we first started, but he punked out on us. We were all set to have some pretty boss interplay between our characters--shared history, powers that meshed well, etc.--but not anymore.

What weapon did you go with?

7/6/2009 9:43:56 AM

longsword and small shield. Gonna be a while before i pick up a songblade

7/6/2009 9:55:05 AM

i just read through all of this

A++++++++++ would read again

7/6/2009 10:05:46 AM

thx

NOT A FAN OF THE LATE CHARACTER BUILDER UPDATE

7/7/2009 8:25:39 AM

have not updated yet. whats in the patch notes?

7/7/2009 9:11:34 AM

Blah, I read the calendar wrong. The update is due today.

Quote :

"Originally Posted by Trevor_WOTC First, here's what to expect in the Character Builder update: * Psion Class – Early PH3 material, developed and ready to play! * Eberron Player's Guide Data. * Information from May Dragon and Dungeon. * Updated Hybrid rules and information. * Ability to Duplicate and hide power cards. * Other changes to the character sheet and power cards such as primary background information appearing in the Summary text and bold faced headers on power cards."

FUCK YES UPDATED HYBRID RULES SON

[Edited on July 7, 2009 at 9:22 AM. Reason : love it]

7/7/2009 9:20:26 AM

on a somewhat similar note, if you had an EQ account, you get a free month for the new 51/50 server this month .

7/7/2009 6:28:01 PM

We didn't play last Sunday, but we played yesterday. I have more feedback on mounted combat.

Forced movement is not very hot against mounts. If the mount or rider is affected by forced movement, the rider chooses whether they stay together or move separately. This means that forced movement cannot dismount a rider involuntarily.

The trade-off is that area and close attacks that affect a mount or its rider affect them both. Since most mounts are going to have lower defenses than their riders, you can see how that becomes a liability. I'm rocking a steady AC 25, but that doesn't mean much when my griffon's AC is only 18.

We hit level 9, which means a new daily power. I picked up victorious surge, which is basically comeback strike plus an extra die of weapon damage. I retrained comeback strike for villain's menace, an attack that also grants encounter-long bonuses to your attack and damage rolls against the target.

I also learned to love the reliable keyword after whiffing three times with victorious surge. No-risk dailies for the motherfucking win.

7/13/2009 9:50:13 AM

Yesterday was pretty much the first chance we got to spend the riches we've been accumulating on our adventures. Brynn picked up a ton of new magic items, some purchased and some quest rewards.

First thing I did was buy a saddle of strength. It turns out that my heavy-ass fighter wearing heavy-ass scale exceeds a griffon's normal carrying capacity! I also picked up a bag of holding, that indispensable friend of adventurers everywhere.

We broke up a terrorist cell of hobgoblin suicide bombers and recovered a baldric of tactical positioning. It has an encounter power that lets me count an adjacent square as being occupied by an ally for the purpose of flanking. There have been a number of times when our rogue would have had combat advantage if I were one square over, so that went to me.

Another quest reward was one level 10 magic item of choice. I took boots of the fencing master. Very cool property: +1 item bonus to AC and Reflex defenses when you shift. They also have an encounter power that lets you shift 2 squares as a minor action.

This leg of this campaign is winding down. I'm going to run a brief interlude, levels 1-3, with a kind of Asian mythological feel. It will offer one explanation for the origin of the dragonborn in our campaign world.

7/20/2009 9:16:35 AM

This is seriously one of the funniest threads in a while.

7/20/2009 10:44:49 AM

Haven't posted in this thread in a while! I'm running my first session of 4E this Sunday.

Last night, I came up with a cool skill challenge. This might be something you guys can use in your own games!

The first encounter of the first session will have the PCs breaking up a gang of halflings who are building toll bridges all down a river. One halfling will escape into the forest, and the party will have to track him to the gang's hideout.

The party will be 1st level, and I've made the skill challenge level 1, complexity 2, moderate DCs. They'll have to accumulate six successes before three failures. This is a level 1 challenge worth 40 xp per character: a minor obstacle, but not insignificant!

The key skill will be Perception. Each day, one character may make a Perception check at DC 15 to follow the fleeing halfling's trail. These are the successes and failures I'm tracking in the complexity. Other characters may aid the attempt, granting a +2 bonus with success, but they will also roll at DC 15, and if they fail, they'll impose a -2 penalty to the check as they argue ignorantly about the best path to take.

I will also require a daily Nature check at DC 15 to successfully navigate the wilderness and avoid natural hazards. Failure will deduct a healing surge, representing recovery from scrapes, bruises, stings, and so on.

The party can get an extra Perception check per day if two PCs make DC 15 Endurance checks as they attempt to distribute their equipment load, march faster, and just generally push themselves. If either fails, the party will not regain their healing surges with the next extended rest due to fatigue.

For secondary skills, an Acrobatics or Athletics check at DC 15 can aid a Perception check with the normal +2 bonus without fear of penalty due to failure. The character climbs a tree or up to higher ledges for a better view of the lay of the land, directing the party around hazards and toward likely routes. However, if he fails, he loses a healing surge as he falls from their perch!

Each character may make one check per day, with only the Perception and Nature checks required. The other players may choose how they feel their characters can best contribute! There are some dangers involved, but nothing that should overcome a party of 1st level adventurers.

Succeed or fail, the party will discover the halflings' hideout. If they succeed, they will have an opportunity to take the hideout by surprise. If they fail, however, they'll blunder right into an ambush. I love giving players the illusion of choice.

8/13/2009 10:33:04 AM

i love you

8/16/2009 1:27:20 AM

aha Froshkiller makes me laugh... a lot

8/16/2009 1:37:10 AM

I overheard this comment from a conversation between two 20-ish white male youths at a bus stop as I was cycling past them on my way home from work today: "I think I'm gonna ditch my Level 2 Immune System."

Any thoughts on exactly what brand of nerd I encountered?

8/24/2009 7:31:03 PM

Quote :

"as I was cycling past them on my way home from work"

8/24/2009 8:15:21 PM

^ apparently loves awful music and hates exercise

8/24/2009 8:17:23 PM

I excercise more than anyone but drive everywhere i need to go and I'm pretty sure a bike is about the least "cool" form of commute so theres a bit of irony in the post.

8/24/2009 8:29:50 PM

I don't know anyone who thinks bikes are uncool, but whatever.

8/24/2009 8:34:00 PM

^^ I think you just failed your saving throw.

8/24/2009 8:35:19 PM

I live in Santa Monica, right by the Pacific Coast Highway; there are a shit-ton of cyclists around here, and my work has a storage room for bikes and surfboards since we're a block from the beach. Why waste gas and contribute to the horrible LA traffic and pollution when you live three miles away?

I enjoy sunshine and exercise; there's no call for ad hominem passive aggression just because your thread got hijacked.

8/24/2009 8:43:57 PM

I ride 3.5 miles to and from work. Not only is that a gallon of gas saved every two trips, but I get a good workout each way and don't have to waste time running at some other point. Also, it's worth pointing out that way more people, girls included, have commented on how much they like my bike versus my car (and the WRX isn't too shabby).

8/24/2009 8:57:48 PM

Quote :

"I think I'm gonna ditch my Level 2 Immune System"

Probably a guy coming out of the closet and declaring his intent to transfer to UNC

Quote :

"I excercise more than anyone "

Sure you do

[Edited on August 24, 2009 at 9:50 PM. Reason : lkj]

8/24/2009 9:49:29 PM

With the new rules with elven lifespan being cut down from like 700 years to now 200 years, does this mean all the old lore about 500+ year old elves is now obsolete?

8/26/2009 9:05:08 PM

so this bitch misspelled exercise and called into the question the "coolness" of riding a bike?

when did high school kids start signing up for TWW?

and this thread has been in Jonathan's back pocket for a while.

[Edited on August 26, 2009 at 9:13 PM. Reason : fsadfdss]

8/26/2009 9:12:19 PM

AndyMac said:

Quote :

"With the new rules with elven lifespan being cut down from like 700 years to now 200 years, does this mean all the old lore about 500+ year old elves is now obsolete?"

I don't think it makes much difference, honestly. There's lots of magic in the world, so there's lots of ways to achieve extraordinary longevity or even immortality.

WillemJoel said:

Quote :

"so this bitch misspelled exercise and called into the question the "coolness" of riding a bike? when did high school kids start signing up for TWW?"

It's worse than you think. Apparently, she's a teacher.

ANYWAY

I ran my first session the Sunday before last. It was a lot of fun! Great success!

I am planning session 2 for this Sunday. My group of adventurers will be meeting with Phon Phon, leader of the Phon crime family. They will discover that the halflings have been extorted by murderous kobolds! There will be thrilling encounters, including a massive melee at the base of a waterfall, the exploration of a cave complex carved into a mountainside with the aid of powerful magic, and the discovery of a blasphemous temple to the Celestial Serpent!

8/27/2009 12:19:48 PM

Quote :

"when did high school kids start signing up for TWW?"

8/27/2009 1:01:52 PM

Quote :

"when did high school kids teachers start signing up for TWW?"

8/27/2009 1:38:34 PM

i hope you get hit by a bus

8/27/2009 2:05:02 PM

I would do both of them

8/27/2009 2:18:22 PM

haha, this thread never ceases to be awesome.

8/27/2009 3:42:46 PM

^^so you would do a 10 year old?

8/28/2009 5:50:38 PM

What the hell kind of high school do you teach at that has 10 year olds?

8/28/2009 5:51:49 PM

for some odd reason i thought someone had made a post relevant to the topic.

8/28/2009 6:04:22 PM

people post on relevant topics

D&D is way more relevant than the two worthless bands you opened the thread with

8/28/2009 6:06:01 PM

ok well us adults backup claims with evidence. So if these two bands are so "worthless" please offer several alternatives; bands the play the same type of music but do it much better so I can see what these bands are "worthless" in relation to.

8/28/2009 6:22:31 PM

Well, there aren't any good bands in the "autotune-heavy bullshit 'punk rock'" genre, but good straight-up/hard rock bands with female vocalists include:

Sleater-Kinney
Elastica
Throwing Muses
Bikini Kill
Bangs
The Gossip
The Breeders
The Runaways

That's off the top of my head. There are plenty more if I go digging through my shelves. And hell, if you want local, Pink Flag ain't half bad.

Some are more tuneful, some are heavier, but it's all good.

8/28/2009 6:33:00 PM

Do you mind starting your own fucking thread for this, mambagrl?

8/28/2009 6:46:55 PM

I was talking about lacey and haley from flyleaf and paramore



WTF are you talking about?

[Edited on August 28, 2009 at 7:08 PM. Reason : ]

8/28/2009 7:07:30 PM

Quote :

"ok well us adults backup claims with evidence. "

Do you mind backing up your claim that you exercise more than anyone, then?

8/28/2009 7:15:38 PM