I had been looking forward to seeing a 4e artificer in play since the first level was included as a teaser in the Character Builder. I’ve never been a big Eberron player, but getting the low-down on the Artificer was enough incentive for me to pick up the Eberron player’s guide.

There’s a lot to play with off-the-grid with the Artificer. Each at-will is a wonderful balance of offense and tactical manipulation that can give a party the edge in just about any situation, granted that your GM is into the creative application of powers.

Magic Weapon

“You can only stew a dwarf. Meat’s too tough if you grill her.” The first ogre bellowed.

“There ain’t enough pots to get fancy. Human tastes awful boiled. Cover them in sauce and sear the two of them.” Another ogre replied.

“Searing and grilling take too long. I’m famished. Let’s just eat them raw.” A third ogre spoke up and then the group of them laughed. The argument was for the dread and discomfort of their two prisoners, an unfortunate pair of travelers locked in an iron cage.

“Smash the lock,” Nihial whispered to the man beside her.

“With what?” The man hissed back. “You expect me to kick through cold black metal with my boots?”

“Dunna argue. We’ll have but one chance ’til the ogres notice.” Nihial struggled to her feet. The ogres had tied her hands behind her back. She moved beside her cell mate and stamped on his foot. “Moradin bless yea,” she murmured.

The man pulled his leg back with a start and got up. He hopped on one foot with his hand bound behind his back. His foot hurt, but there was another strange feeling in his leg. His boot felt different, heavier and sturdier.

“Now,” Nihial urged. “Aye, cannae kick that high and me hands are tied. The blessings of Moradin be upon yea. He extends his might to all things sewn, hammered, and bolted. Kick.”

The man made a deft hop to the side of the cage. His body twisted in a graceful way and his leg struck out from his hip like a bolt from a crossbow. The entire cage rattled and the lock strained against its moorings. Nihial quietly thanked the Gods for sending her a man with strong legs.

“It’s working.” The man said in surprise and kicked at the lock again. He pulled his leg back quickly after it struck the iron. It ached. Whatever blessing was on him before seemed to have left. Suddenly a sharp pain erupted from his other foot. The dwarven woman had stamped on him again.

“Hurry! The ogres are lookin’ at us!” Nihial shouted. The man spun around and kicked out with his other leg. There was a loud ping and a clang as the door pulled free of the lock and swung open.

“Praise be crafty dwarves!” He shouted and he and the dwarf made for the trees with the ogres on their heels. “Hurry up little one.” The man encouraged. “Don’t you have another trick to make my boots move faster?”

“Yea want Moradin ta do everything for ya? Shut up and keep runnin’!”

If you’re a bit confused by all the talk of blessings, you obviously didn’t read last week’s post by Jeff. Nihial is an artificer who believes her proficiency with arcane items stems from her devotion to Moradin, the dwarven god of crafting. In this situation, she used the Magic Weapon at-will against her cell mate to give him an attack and damage bonus until the end of her next turn. Luckily for her, her cell mate happened to be an incredibly strong monk with a sturdy pair of boots and the ogres happened to have a very cheap cage.

You’ll notice that I’m starting with the fighter and not the cleric.  With Divine Power looming, there’s no use touching a class that will doubtless have hundreds of new options in a week or two.  Divine classes will get their own special in play after Divine Power comes out.

Fighters.  Masters of weapon fighting, they’ve always been the red-headed stepchild of D&D –good in the early levels, good as fodder in the later levels.

WotC made up for decades of fighter abuse in 4th edition.  Fighters are worth playing at all levels of the game. You can highlight several features of the class that make fighters better, but the fundamental reason fighters win “most improved”?

It’s because there is one game, and every class plays it.

This is the most important aspect of 4th edition’s design when it comes to game balance.  In previous editions of the game, there were multiple “games”.  What the wizard did when he got going was something completely different than what the fighter did.  The fighter swung swords at things.  He beat people up with weapons.  The wizard…altered reality. It sounds like hyperbole until you start looking at spells like Wish, Invisibility, Fly, Flesh to Stone.  In previous editions, half of the Player’s Handbook was spells for casters.  Casters could get an incredible array of options to do whatever they wanted, whenever.  Each level brought new options. Fighters?  Still swinging swords.

How could casters not be stronger and dominate play?

But now, fighters and casters  play with similar rules.  They do different things, but exist within the same rules framework. The playing field is now even.  People who liked to play casters in previous editions cried about this –the wizard is nerfed! — but really guys?  Stop it.  Wizards are just fine and we’ll address them soon.

Right now we’re talking about the fighter.  While ostensibly defenders, a well-designed fighter can have striker-level damage, or provide strong control.  Weapons really matter to a fighter, and different weapons are conducive to different builds and styles.   Sword and shield (“Sword and board” if you’re down with the vernacular) and polearm fighters are great for defensive, controlling types.  Double-weapon wielding fighters and axe/hammer fighters push you towards the damage-dealing category. Many concepts for fighters can be successful, so it’s mostly a matter of style what it is that you need to do.

When making a fighter, the biggest question to ask is how much risk do I wish to take on?  Making a defense oriented fighter will mean less damage but less exposure to going down, while going offensive means that you’ll be a striker, without the striker mobility/evasion.  This is what makes strikers work.  They deal damage and they have several ways to punish retribution or avoid it completely. Fighters do not.  You will deal damage and then you will take return fire. You have increased hit points, yes, hit points have their limit.  You never have as many HP as you need once you start getting hit, so your best option is always to avoid being hit.

In accordance with this notion of risk, the builds here are divided between “safe” and “risky” builds.  The safe builds will lean towards high defense and battlefield control, while risky builds will deal maximum damage.

Safety First!

Kovari, Deva Fighter/Polearm Master

I challenge you to stay on your feet against this greatspear-wielding Deva warrior.   Utilizing knockdown assault, an absolutely bonkers power from the PH minis series (also available to us Character Builder junkies), Kovari can knock enemies prone from up to two squares (three with an action point).  Any enemy that attempts to move adjacent to the Deva can get stopped in their tracks, or on occassion tripped up (courtesy of , err, Trip Up).

Clad in plate armor, enemies who think they’ll have an easy time once they get in are likely to be dissapointed.  Kovari has plenty of HP and plenty of AC to fend them off, and Shrewd Repositioning will help her get back to her preferred ranges on the outside.

Damage with Kovari is not high, but her ability to keep the enemy off their feet and away from your allies is indisputable.

Kovari, level 11
Fighter Talents: Two-handed Weapon Talent

FINAL ABILITY SCORES

Str 19, Con 16, Dex 11, Int 14, Wis 19, Cha 9.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES

Str 16, Con 15, Dex 10, Int 11, Wis 14, Cha 8.

AC: 28 Fort: 23 Reflex: 19 Will: 21
HP: 101 Surges: 12 Surge Value: 25

TRAINED SKILLS

Intimidate +9, Athletics +12, Heal +14

UNTRAINED SKILLS

Acrobatics +3, Arcana +7, Bluff +4, Diplomacy +4, Dungeoneering +9, Endurance +6, History +9, Insight +9, Nature +9, Perception +9, Religion +9, Stealth +3, Streetwise +4, Thievery +3

FEATS

Level 1: Weapon Expertise (Polearm)
Level 2: Weapon Proficiency (Greatspear)
Level 4: Toughness
Level 6: Weapon Focus (Spear)
Level 8: Auspicious Lineage
Level 10: Armor Proficiency (Plate)
Level 11: Polearm Gamble

POWERS

Fighter at-will 1: Cleave
Fighter at-will 1: Knockdown Assault
Fighter daily 1: Lasting Threat
Fighter daily 5: Hounding Longarm
Fighter daily 9: Stop Thrust
Fighter encounter 1: Lunging Strike
Fighter encounter 3: Dance of Steel
Fighter encounter 7: Trip Up
Fighter utility 10: Menacing Stance
Fighter utility 2: Shrewd Repositioning
Fighter utility 6: Unstoppable

ITEMS

Magic Greatspear +3, Periapt of Cascading Health +2, Martyr’s Gith Plate Armor +3

Kill ‘em All

Fraene, Half-Orc Fighter/Shock Trooper

I love tempest fighters.  They seem just like melee rangers at first –dual weapon, focus on being nimble, etc.  — but =what tempest fighters have that rangers don’t is the ability to make someone fight them.  It’s not hard to get away from a melee ranger.  Take your opportunity attack and flee. The tempest fighter can abuse combat challenge to make sure you don’t go anywhere.  Though lacking the ranger’s evasion capabilities, the tempest fighter makes up for that with stickiness and ability mark foes.

The best race for tempest fighter in my opinion is drow –they get combat advantage for free in the opening of the fight with cloud of darkness. Combo cloud with the nimble blade feat (+1 with a light blade when you have combat advantage), and the drow never misses, and can set up a million different scenarios that are unpleasant for his opponents.

Next best is half-orc, for the simple fact that they are the only race in the PHB series that get a bonus to Strength and Dexterity.  Stats-wise they plug right into the Tempest fighter build.  Add in a little kick from Furious assault, and you have a one-man, dual-wielding party.

Playing a tempest fighter is simple — keep moving!  If you think you’re going to sit center-field and stop all the monsters single-handedly, you are going to get chomped on.  You don’t have the AC or HPs to do this well. Mark and move.  If the monsters are going to come after you, then at least make them chase you.

Fraene, level 11
Fighter Talents: Tempest Technique

FINAL ABILITY SCORES

Str 21, Con 12, Dex 21, Int 11, Wis 14, Cha 9.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES

Str 16, Con 11, Dex 16, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 8.

AC: 26 Fort: 22 Reflex: 21 Will: 17
HP: 87 Surges: 10 Surge Value: 21

TRAINED SKILLS

Streetwise +9, Endurance +12, Athletics +14

UNTRAINED SKILLS

Acrobatics +9, Arcana +5, Bluff +4, Diplomacy +4, Dungeoneering +7, Heal +7, History +5, Insight +7, Intimidate +6, Nature +7, Perception +7, Religion +5, Stealth +9, Thievery +9

FEATS

Level 1: Weapon Proficiency (Double sword)
Level 2: Weapon Expertise (Light Blade)
Level 4: Weapon Focus (Light Blade)
Level 6: Improved Initiative
Level 8: Nimble Blade
Level 10: Two-Weapon Fighting
Level 11: Agile Tempest

POWERS

Fighter at-will 1: Dual Strike
Fighter at-will 1: Footwork Lure
Fighter daily 1: Tempest Dance
Fighter daily 5: Nimble Bladestorm
Fighter daily 9: Fighter’s Recovery
Fighter encounter 1: Distracting Spate
Fighter encounter 3: Rain of Blows
Fighter encounter 7: Sudden Surge
Fighter utility 10: Defensive Resurgence
Fighter utility 2: Pass Forward
Fighter utility 6: Agile Approach

ITEMS

Magic Chainmail +3, Parrying Double sword +3, Skull Bracers (heroic tier)

What fighter builds do you like?  Please share.

So grab yourself some static bonuses,drop lightning on some unsuspecting minion, and check out these builds.

The Obvious Build

Nadarr Dragonborn  Draconic Sorceror/Blizzard Mage

Dragonborn were made to be Draconic Sorcerers.  Nadarr gets a little frosty, but doesn’t immediately go for the Wintertouched/Lasting Frost combo, mostly because he wants to AOE blast the hack out of his enemies and his buddies are likely to get in the way.  Coordinated Explosion/War Wizardy become must-have for him.

Nadarr

Dragonborn, Sorcerer, Blizzard Mage
Spell Source: Dragon Magic

FINAL ABILITY SCORES

Str 21, Con 11, Dex 13, Int 13, Wis 9, Cha 21.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES

Str 16, Con 10, Dex 12, Int 12, Wis 8, Cha 16.

AC: 22 Fort: 23 Reflex: 19 Will: 25
HP: 73 Surges: 6 Surge Value: 18

TRAINED SKILLS

Arcana +11, Diplomacy +15, History +13, Intimidate +17

UNTRAINED SKILLS

Acrobatics +6, Bluff +10, Dungeoneering +4, Endurance +5, Heal +4, Insight +4, Nature +4, Perception +4, Religion +6, Stealth +6, Streetwise +10, Thievery +6, Athletics +10

FEATS

Level 1: Implement Expertise (Light Blade)
Level 2: Arcane Spellfury
Level 4: Focusing Spellfury
Level 6: Dragonborn Frenzy
Level 8: Wintertouched
Level 10: Coordinated Explosion
Level 11: War Wizardry

POWERS

Sorcerer at-will 1: Dragonfrost
Sorcerer at-will 1: Burning Spray
Sorcerer daily 1: Ice Javelins
Sorcerer daily 5: Moon and the Stars
Sorcerer daily 9: Ice Stalagmites
Sorcerer encounter 1: Pinning Bolt
Sorcerer encounter 3: Poisonous Exhalation
Sorcerer encounter 7: Rimestorm
Sorcerer utility 10: Devour Magic
Sorcerer utility 2: Spatial Trip
Sorcerer utility 6: Fate’s Chaos

ITEMS

Wyrmtooth Dagger Dagger +3, Bloodthread Cloth Armor (Basic Clothing) +2, Amulet of Protection +3

The Interesting Build

Zebbith Drow Storm Sorcerer/Rogue/Daggermaster.

+24 damage bonus at paragon.  I am tempted to say “nuff said”, but I’ll elaborate a little further where this comes from.  Zebbith obviously is channeling his spells through a dagger via Sorcerous Blade Channeling.  He optimizes the weapon with Weapon Focus, grabs another dagger to access Two-Weapon Fighting and the brilliant-with-a-dagger Two Weapon Opening (take a basic attack with off-hand weapon when you score a critical.)  He further enhances his dagger-fu with Daggermaster…you know, that class that lets you crit on 18-20?  That one. He then wields a bloodclaw dagger in his mainhand to allow him to swap HP for more static damage bonuses.

Zebbith is a very naughty drow.  His main weakness is that he has to get into melee to do his most ridiculous stuff, and his defenses suck.  He will need frequent pairing with a defender to make sure he survives the counter-assault of anything left standing.  Which might not be a whole lot, but you still should prepare for contingencies…

Zebbith
Drow, Sorcerer, Daggermaster
Spell Source: Storm Magic

FINAL ABILITY SCORES

Str 9, Con 13, Dex 21, Int 13, Wis 11, Cha 21.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES

Str 8, Con 12, Dex 16, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 16.

AC: 23 Fort: 16 Reflex: 20 Will: 23
HP: 75 Surges: 7 Surge Value: 18

TRAINED SKILLS

Arcana +11, Bluff +15, Insight +10, Intimidate +17, Thievery +15

UNTRAINED SKILLS

Acrobatics +10, Diplomacy +10, Dungeoneering +5, Endurance +6, Heal +5, History +6, Nature +5, Perception +5, Religion +6, Stealth +12, Streetwise +10, Athletics +4

FEATS

Level 1: Sorcerous Blade Channeling
Level 2: Weapon Focus (Light Blade)
Level 4: Weapon Expertise (Light Blade)
Level 6: Sneak of Shadows
Level 8: Rising Spellfury
Level 10: Two-Weapon Fighting
Level 11: Two-Weapon Opening

POWERS

Sorcerer at-will 1: Storm Walk
Sorcerer at-will 1: Lightning Strike
Sorcerer daily 1: Shocking Magnetism
Sorcerer daily 5: Glacial Armor
Sorcerer daily 9: Staggering Blast
Sorcerer encounter 1: Thunder Slam
Sorcerer encounter 3: Dancing Lightning
Sorcerer encounter 7: Spark Form
Sorcerer utility 10: Fog Form
Sorcerer utility 2: Dragonflame Mantle
Sorcerer utility 6: Lightning Shift

ITEMS

Lightning Dagger +2, Bloodclaw Dagger +3, Magic Githweave Armor +3

Four Powers

Here are some of my favorite powers for the {Class}

• At-Will: Lightning strike –all of the At-Wills for sorcerers seem tied up into the power source you’re using, but I’ll still vote Lightning Strike as being the most interesting for me, simply as a minion clearer.  Hitting up to two targets 10 squares away from each other equals ZAP! to any of the little buggers floating on the board.
• Encounter: Whirlwind –another storm power, this one gets my pick because it knocks prone and lets you ignore the center of the burst, meaning you can cast it on your defender or striker at the frontlines and provide him with an escape route/target-rich environment.
• Utility: Sorcerous Sirroco –I love powers that have great uses outside of combat.  The ability of this power to get you out of jams or solve non-fighting problems are nearly limitless.  Grab a buddy and fly!
  
• Daily: Thunder Leap –I feel that every striker should have a good escape button, and this certainly qualifies. The imagery is awesome as well; You leap into the air with a clap of thunder, throwing your surrounding enemies back while you ride the thunder (less exciting but less perilous than riding  the lightning) through the air and out of trouble.

The Obvious Build

Valna, Elf Shaman (Stalker Spirit)/Twilight Guardian

Valna goes for the gusto.  Aggressive to the max, she uses shaman powers to get extra attacks, move into positions, and boost damage.  Twilight Guardian in addition to Elven Accuracy gives Valna solid accuracy when she needs it.  Improved Initiative and Danger Sense ensure she gets into position first.

The Interesting Build

Cutter, Warforged Shaman (Protector Spirit)/Warforged Lifeseeker

And on the protecting side of things, we have old reliable Cutter.  He exploits his Warforged toughness at every possible opportunity with Bonds of the Clan, of course uses the Jack of All Trades/Speak with Spirits combo alluded to above.

Four Powers

Here are some of my favorite powers for the {Class}

• At-Will: Watcher’s Strike.  Does ok, damage, gives a little attack buff and pumps out perception bonuses like candy.  It’s not an at-will that you’ll use all the time, but when it becomes useful, it will be extremely useful.  It will be hard for lurkers and other sneaky gits to stay away from you.
  
• Encounter: Winter Wind Spirit.  Makes the wizard spell shield look pathetic and small.
  
• Utility: Sudden Restoration.  Free saving throw attempts for a couple of your buddies once an encounter.  Strong.
  
• Daily: Earthrage Spirit.  a blast that targets only enemies and knock them prone surprisingly leaves you quite happy and not rageful at all, earth or no.
  

While they certainly out-control wizards, they have very little of the wizard’s striker tendencies. There aren’t ways to really punish enemies (though I try in one of the builds), so it’s best to keep your focus on one of the triple S abilities mentioned above when selecting your powers.

Without further adieu, the builds:

The Obvious Build

Kerem, Deva Invoker/Flame of Hope

Not much to see here…Kerem engages in triple S, and should be a stock invoker that gets you where you need to be.

The Interesting Build

Damakos, Tiefling Invoker/Turathian Highborn

Retribution. TK focuses a bit more on the damage side of things. Using his infernal wrath and some well-chosen feats, he can deliver damage to any foe who has the temerity to dare strike him. Of special note here is that I use the Turathian Highborn class to round out the concept, and get a little more juice out of the apparent mismatch of race and class. I’m finding in general this is a strong option when you want to play a race that is not necessarily built for a class. Pick the racial paragon class and then play to what your character can do well.

Four Powers

Here are some of my favorite powers for the Invoker class

• At-Will: Grasping Shards –burst 1, range 10, slow creatures until next turn? Heck yeah. Oh, and at-will? Double yes. Make this your first power. Solid crowd control.
  
• Encounter: Thunder of Judgement — target one to three creatures without fear of hitting your buddies, and daze whoever you hit. Solid, but did it have to target fortitude? Blech, but I’d still pick this up.
  
• Utility:Angelic Visage –always nice to have a panic button. Get an interrupt debuff to your enemies attack and then push them 3 squares.
  
• Daily: Fourfold Invocation of Doom — cool name? Check. Auto-daze (even on a miss)? Check. burst 10, targeting only enemies? OK, stop talking, I’m taking this right now.
  

The Obvious Build.

Thorn, Razorclaw Shifter Druid/Blood Moon Stalker

Thorn is built for speed.  With feat choices like Defensive Mobility, Fast Runner, and Improved Initiative, this druid shifter gets in your face, and the gets out of it.  While he will never be your main defender, he can use his control powers and moderate toughness in a pinch when you require backup.  He also attends to any point on the field, leaving a mass of disabled and hobbling enemies in his wake.

The Interesting Build

Marek, Deva Druid/Ancestral Incarnate

Marek is interesting not only because he’s not of a typical race that you might associate with the druid, but because he is a shining example of how the racial paragon classes present in PHB2 can fill in gaps or heighten synergy for “off-builds”. Devas are cool to build with anyways, as their racial power gives them the ability to be very accurate with a clutch power once an encounter. Plus, the concept of a protector of nature who has persisted an reincarnated for centuries is too good for me to pass up.

Marek is most comfortable controlling from the back.  His power choices reflect this, and Ancestral Incarnate gives them a nice bump.  Resurgent Action lets you get an expended power back and get your extra action, so it’s pretty strong.  Past-Life guardian isn’t going to win awards for broken mechanic of the year, but it helps fill out your role as a controller nicely.

Four Powers

Here are four powers that I think are strong/interesting. We have one at-will, one encounter, one daily, and one utility.

• Call of the Beast –This is the at-will pick.  I like this power because it allows you to increase defender stickiness.  Run up to the frontline, pop this beauty, and force monsters to take noticeable damage or go pick on someone their own size, which is not you or anyone else except defender right next to you.
• Twisting vine –what a great power to tie up your enemies.  Once this is placed on a group of enemies, movement drops.   A great way to buy time to escap or hold off a contigent of enemies.
• Black Harbinger –This utility power gives you insta-streedcred as the sneaky guy, and gives you flight until the end of the encounter.  Even better, you get to swap between this form, human, and beast form.  It’s the ultimate position tool.  Fly around, land, swap to your main attacking form, then flap away.
• Faerie fire –It’s hard not to like a power that slows and provides free combat damage, then scorches the opponent for slipping out of it’s effect. Even better, when they shake it, they still give combat advantage for a turn.  A cool daily.

The barbarian also has a “soft” side. Ok, not soft, but a more skill-based build. If playing a rageblood barbarian is all about maxing out big charges and the followup damage, then the thaneborn barbarian is involved in leading those raging barbarians into battle, buffing and debuffing to give your troops maximal advantage while dealing out solid damage of your own.

Rageblood

Like I’ve hinted at, using Rageblood Vigor is pretty simple. Hit a target, just about any target. Beat it down into the ground and charge into your next foe. Whereas the Avenger finds positioning and target selection to be of utmost importance, the rageblood barbarian cares much much less about such divine mundanities. A well designed barbarian is going to deal out heinous damage to anything it hits, so it’s really your job to make sure the rageblood barbarian is maximized for doing just that. you’re looking to keep your attack rolls high and max your [W]. Static bonuses are nice when you can get them, but I would choose [W] over a static bonus unless the bonus was inhumanly high. Using a maul, for instance, I’d be averaging around 7 per [W]. Most static damage bonuses are hardpressed to overtake that. Fortunately you shouldn’t often be forced to make that deal very often. You can use feat bonuses to supplement your powers, and that’s that.

Since you want to max your [W], picking the right weapon is your first priority. What gets my blood raging?

• Execution Axe –1d12 + high crit + brutal 2. Ouch. A good pick.
• Falchion –whenever possible I try to roll as many dice as possible. Accurate weapon and high crit. Slick.
• Fullblade –accurate weapon, 1d12. Solid choice, but you’re going to have to give up a feat to get it.
• Mordenkrad –more dice! Not great accuracy, but 2d6 with the possibility to reroll 1s is nice damage. Worth the feat you spend to get it.

You can get the non-superior equivalents of these weapons, but I would say that it’s worth the feat to get them early from level 1.

Most of the feats you want choose themselves for you. You want Weapon Expertise, Weapon Focus, Powerful Charge and Defensive Mobility. Avoid Power Attack and Rising Fury (Weapon Focus will do more over the course of battle unless all you fight are minions).

You’ve got your weapon, now charge!

Rageblood Powers

The avenger has a lot of overlap between builds. The barbarian’s two builds are very different. I’ll split up the powers based on class feature selection.

• Avalanche Strike –what, do you want to live forever? You’re not playing the barbarian because you don’t want to get hit. Put yourself on the edge and deliver pain.
• Blood Strike — chances are either you or the hapless victim you’re raging against are bloodied. getting the 1[W] shouldn’t be hard to get.
• Combat Surge –I suck at rolling dice! Re-roll please. Thanks.
• Black Dragon Rage — I’m so awesome! I’m so awesome you can’t even see how awesome I am because you’re BLINDED by how awesome I am. At least you won’t have to see what I’m about to do to you….
• Oak Hammer Rage — I said stay down. Stay down! Now that you’re down, let me beat on you some more. Isn’t this fun? Don’t get up! Ok, now you can get up. You’re dead?

Thaneborn

The thaneborn is the coolest barbarian build. You swap raw power for some leader/controller-esque abilities. The rageblood barbarian is a bit self-absorbed, but his charismatic companion is much more of a team player. The Thaneborn barbarian is a savage warlord charging into the battle with a roar, ripping into…minions.

Yup, minions. Minions give you the absolute best bang for buck. One shot = one kill = virtual combat advantage against every target in burst 5 courtesy of Thaneborn Triumph, or an even larger burst with Improved Roar of Triumph (just take this if you’re Thaneborn). -2 to all defenses, on every enemy in a huge burst? It’s even better than combat advantage because it stacks with combat advantage. An ally who gets combat advantage after your triumph gets, effectively, a +4 to hit. All for one crunchy minion. The only downside is your allies making fun of you for all that fuss over one minion. “You killed a minion…great! Now keep it down. Stop roaring! You’re giving me a headache.”  The downside to this is that it’s once an encounter. Bummer, but you can use it to set your whole party to go nova on the opposition in one fell swoop.  Your controller will absolutely love you when  you trigger this.

Bloodying an enemy triggers the other half of your Thaneborn ability, giving yourself or an ally a temporary attack bonus. This is harder to coordinate unless your GM tells you how many hit points monsters have. Take that when you can get it, but otherwise…cull the weak! Take out the weakest enemies quickly and your buddies will thank you.

Your powers are doing less damage than the Rageblood, but your weapon selection will look similar. Static bonuses will be better for you as you’ll do less [W]. Focus on debuffs and movement so you can get to the targets you want to be hitting.

Thaneborn Powers

• Vault the Fallen –hit two creatures, shifting your Charisma modifier in-between attacks. Low damage, but clutch ability.
• Swift Panther Rage –more movement! Shifting 2 spaces as a move action is pretty awesome.
• Shatterbone Strike –ok damage and a big debuff to an enemy’s AC. Useful against hard to hit creatures. Land this and let your allies pile in.
• Vengeful Storm Rage –3 lightning isn’t impressive, but it auto-kills minions. Cull the weak, remember?
• Loss of Will –pure flavor. “What do you think that is going to against me? Drop. Your. Blade.”

The Obvious Build

Nalla, Goliath Rageblood Barbarian/Frenzied Bezerker.

He’s huge.  He hits opponents very hard with his execution axe.  Pick what you want to kill, watch your HP.  Charge. Rinse. Repeat.  It’s  a simple and effective build.

The Interesting Build

Kairon, Tiefling Thaneborn Barbarian/Fighter/Fearbringer Thane.

Kairon dips into fighter to abuse the Double Sword in conjuction with his Thanebringer powers.  He adds Rain of Blows to his repertoire for pure shredding damage, but otherwise focuses on moving through the battlefield and tagging up multiple targets.  The tiefling thaneborn has a cluster of great synergies going.  Thaneborn Advance lets him drop a foe then shift 4 squares as a free action, and then use Roar of Triumph. By dropping the foe, all opponents within 9 squares get a -2 defense, then you use an action point the foe you shifted next too, giving all opponents who can see you a -2 to attack rolls. Shred your guy with Rain of Blows, and if you can bloody him, the next person to hit him gets a +4 to the attack roll.

The Thaneborn Barbarian, as you can see, is like a striker warlord, with explosions of buffs and debuffs to aid the party.

The avenger is a little confusing on paper.  It’s a striker, but it has no damage add-on feature. No Hunter’s Quarry or Warlock’s Curse or Sneak Attack.  It’s powers are pretty low damage for a striker as well.  What it gets to replace all of this is accuracy.  The avenger’s main feature, Oath of Enmity, lets you roll two attack rolls and take the highest.  The avenger rarely misses it’s targeted enemy.

As choice a class feature as this is though, it comes with some pretty harsh restrictions.  If there are enemies near you, you don’t get the extra attack roll!  Further complicating matters for the divine punisher are it’s secondary features, the censures.  Censure of Retribution gives you extra damage on your attack rolls if someone other than your oath target hits you.  Censure of Pursuit gives you a damage bonus when the target moves away from you.

More confusion awaits. If you have Censure of Retribution, you get rewarded with more damage for getting hit, but one of the other perks of being an Avenger is high AC.  So…you want to get hit but you are hard to hit. If you have the Censure of Retribution, you want to be near the opponent, but have him move away from you.

The surface of the avenger is full of these contradictions. These contradictions of the class are actually why I enjoy it so much.  You must build an effective strategy and select skills wisely, coaxing out the classes’ power.

The first thing to keep in mind about the avenger is that it is all about position.  It shares this with the rogue.  What both classes want to do is to get into range with a target and then take further action after hitting to avoid retribution from the target.  The easiest way to do this is to pair up with a defender on your foe. He marks it, you hit it.  The Avenger adds an additional wrinkle in that it also needs to be at once clear of and near other enemies.  Grab all the powers you can that let you move the opponent or shift him whenever you can.  It’s worth sacrificing 1[W] to do, since where you are in relation to the enemy is linked to your chances of hitting the opponent and getting any damage at all.

The next most important thing for the Avenger to do is select targets wisely.  You want to fell opponents as quickly as possible, so you can oath as many foes per battle as possible.  your targeting priority would be:

Soldier > Artillery > Lurker > Skirmisher > Brute > Minion

You go after Soldiers first because they will typically be harder to hit but have few enough hit points that you, hitting more frequently than average, can take them out quickly. Artillery definitely wants to run from you, but you will be fast enough to catch them and punish them for it, taking out these high damage threats efficiently.  Lurkers and Skirmishers want to move to get their powers going, but you can make them pay for that movement.  Brutes are a waste of your oath.  They are meant to be hit…a lot.  You can hit them easily without the oath, and they’ll suck you in a slugging match.  Save them and minions for absolute, dead last.

Powers

For this series, I’m only covering up to Paragon level, since this is what most people will be seeing.  It lays down the foundation of what you can do the next 20 or so levels.

My top five Avenger powers:

• Angelic Alacrity -even if you don’t have Censure of Pursuit, the free 2 square shift is key.  If you use Censure of Pursuit, don’t even think about another first level encounter power.
• Sequestering Strike -another power where you take it no matter what Censure you use.  Teleport your target two squares and yourself to any square adjacent?  Uh, yes please. Just take this one.
• Living Death Strike -this isn’t a must-have, but the capability for a big 4[W] burst is pretty nice.  With a maul you are rolling 8d6 with this power. A nice closer.
• Aspect of Agility -shift 5 squares and get a +2 bonus to AC and Reflex.  Great position management, and another must-have.
• Aspect of Speed -the only problem here is that it’s a daily.  Otherwise, shifting 5 before the attack and five after is too good.  Another must have regardless of build.

The Obvious Build

Heian ,Elven Avenger of Corellon(Censure of Pursuit)/Zealous Assassin

This build uses Censure of Pursuit seeks to hit it’s target and avoid punishment as much as possible with it’s high AC and lots of shifting.  Pair up with a defender and keep your opponent on his heels.

The Interesting Build

Thotham, Goliath Avenger of the Raven Queen(Censure of Retribution)/Oathsworn

The Goliath does not seem suited for the hit-and-run striker motif at all, does it?  It doesn’t even give bonuses to the main attributes!  But the Goliath is actually pretty strong for a host of other reasons.  We mix it with Censure of Retribution and a lower AC to abuse Stone’s Endurance (resist 10 damage for a turn), and to get easy access to a range of static bonuses.  Power Attack normally sucks, but when you get two chances, it’s much better, giving us +6 damage on every shot we take.  We take Goliath Greatweapon proficiency for another +3, and we end up with about +17 damage per attack.  Not bad!

Plus:  He is huge.

I got to talking with Matt, who plays our party’s paladin, and was talking about how much divine challenge is starting to, well, suck. It doesn’t do enough damage to deter, isn’t “sticky”, and forces the player to chase it’s challenged foe around or lose it.

Early in heroic, we didn’t notice it so much. The damage seemed about right, especially in a campaign filled with the undead, taking 5-15 extra radiant damage. I noticed though, now that the players are 6-7 level, that I was ignoring the paladin’s challenge more and more. Does the monster take 6 points of damage, or does he go after that annoying little rogue who is doing 30 points of damage a round? A monster might follow the compulsion of the challenge before getting smacked for more, but how I play it is that monsters chase the biggest threat. Compounding on all these problems is the fact that the paladin often has the highest AC by a large margin in the party. Even with a -2, almost everyone in the party is easier to hit.

After much back and forth, we came up with the following fixes. I’ll keep you up to date on how it plays out, but both the player and I are excited to see how it goes.

Mindwitch

“Most seek their powers from outside themselves.  All of my power comes from within, and I am stronger for it.”

In a world where everyone is reliant on external powers -blades, gods, pacts, the arcane — mindwitches stand apart, relying only on the considerable power of their mind to determine their paths as they adventure.  Able to control the minds of others gives mindwitches unimaginable power, but the price of this power is loathing and distrust leveled at them from the societies that inhabit.

Being strongly self-reliant and individualistic, mindwitches have as many reasons to adventure as there exist mindwitches.  What all seekers of the mentalist’s path share is a need to roam, and to hide their true capabilities from a society that fears them.  The lives that they must lead force mindwitches to make allies slowly, and to champion causes infrequently.  When one commits to a friendship or cause, however, the results are extraordinary.

You walk a path that few can ever know  You traverse the mindscape.  What will you find within your own mind?

Class Traits

Role: Controller.  You use your abilities to apply status conditions on enemies so that they may not fight on their own terms.  Your mind controls the battlefield like no others can.
Power Source: Mental.  Your talents and skills are dependent on your limitless psychic potential.
Key Abilities: Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma

Armor Proficiencies: Cloth
Weapon Proficiencies: dagger, crossbow, staff, shortsword
Bonus to Defense: +2 Will

Hit Points at 1st level: 10 + constitution
Hit Points per Level Gained: 4
Healing surges per day: 6 + Constitution modifier

Trained Skills: Insight. From the skills list below choose three more skills at 1st level.
Class skills: religion, bluff, heal, history,diplomacy, arcana, intimidate, perception

Build option: Dominator mindwitch, deciever mindwitch
Class Features: Mindlink, Strong Mind, Psychic Barrier

Mindwitch Class Features

New power keyword: Mindlink.  The mindlink keyword means that a mindlink between the mindwitch and her target must be established to target the opponent or sustain the power.  The moment there are no mindlinks, the power stops working.

New power source: Mental.  The Mental power source denotes that someone is drawing from vast reserves of internal mental energy to generate effects.

Mindlink: The Mindwitch can create a mental link between it and a subject.  The created channel makes it easier for the mindwitch to affect the target with its powers.  As a minor action, the mindwitch can establish a mindlink with any target he or she can see.  A mindlink last until the end of the encounter (save ends).  At 11th level, there is a -2 on this save, and at 21st level there is a -4 on this save. A mindlink gives a +1 to hit on the target for any mental ability of the mindwitch. The mindwitch can establish a number of mindlinks equal to his 1+intelligence modifier at a time.  Mindlinks can be relinquished as an immediate free action. Only one mindlink can be established per target unless the mindwitch has focused mindlink.

Strong Mind:  The Mindwitch gets a +3 on saves against charms and fear effects. 

Psychic Barrier:  The mindwitch creates a zone around herself that provides a +1 on the Will defense of all allies within 5 squares. at 21st level this barrier becomes a +3 to Will.

Creating a Mindwitch
Mindwitches fall into two general categories.  The dominator mindwitch prefers to control the mind of one foe and completely manipulate his/her actions.  The deceiver seeks to cause chaos and disorder amongst as many people as he can.

Dominator Mindwitch

The dominator mindwitch seeks to target out single targets and manipulate them completely.  The dominator build is able weaken, daze or dominate a target, creating a puppet can be bent to her will.

Ability: Focused Mindlink
The Dominator can focus her psychic energies on one target to great effect.  The mindwitch is able to use multiple mindlinks on the same target, each mindlink establishing a +1 to hit on the target.  Many Dominator powers also require the expenditure of mindlink to work.

Deceiver Mindwitch
The deceiver is out to fool and beguile as many opponents as possible.  the deceiver can manipulate a whole group of enemies, altering the shape of the battlefield in an instant.

Ability: Group Mindlink
The deceiver mindwitch adds half his level to the total number of people he can establish a mindlink with.

Mindwitch Powers

Your powers are deadly thoughts that you implant into the minds of those that you seek to control.  Charisma can amplify the effect of these thoughts, but the mastery it takes to inject these thoughts comes from keen intellect or deep insight provided by Intelligence and Wisdom, respectively.

Level 1 At-Will Thoughts

Grasping Thoughts
You close your eyes and open your mind, weaving invisible channels between yourself and multiple adversaries.
At-will * Mental
Standard Action burst 2 within 10 squares
Target: Each creature in blast.
Attack: Wisdom vs. Will
Hit: 1+Charisma modifier psychic damage.
Effect:  Establish a mindlink, up to your limit, with each affected target (save ends).

Breeching Thought
With a quick flick of your mind, you implant a disruptive image or thought into your opponent’s mind.  For a moment, he is unaware of what he is doing.  But you know.
At-will * Mental, Mindlink
Standard Action  Ranged 10
Target: One Creature
Attack: Intelligence vs Will
Hit: 1d6 + Intelligence modifier.
Effect:  Slide the target a number of squares equal to 1 + Wisdom modifier.

Mind Dagger
You reach into the mind of your enemies, and stab them with mental energy.
At-Will * Mental, Mindlink
Standard Action
Target: Each creature you have a mindlink with.
Attack: Intelligence vs Will
Hit: 1d4 + Charisma Modifier.
Increase damage to 2d4+ Charisma Modifer at 21st level
Effect:  release your mindlink with all targets.  If you do, do damage equal to 1 + your charisma modifier and slide each target one square

Startling Thought
You release an image that startles your adversary, causing them to reel from the implanted revelation.
At Will* Mental
Standard Action ranged 10
Target: One Creature
Attack: Intelligence versus Will
Hit: 1 + Wisdom Modifier psychic damage
Effect: The target is dazed until the end of your next turn.

Level 1 Encounter Thoughts

Mind Lash
You force your opponent to retreat further and further into his mind with a series of mental attacks.
Encounter* Mental, Mindlink
Standard Action Ranged 10
Target: One creature
Attack: Wisdom versus Will
Hit: 1d4 + Charisma modifier psychic damage
Effect:  Target is stunned (save ends).

Minor Mind Blast
You “shout” into the minds of your opponents, causing massive harm to their internals.
Encounter* Mental
Standard Action blast 1 within 10 squares
Target: Each creature within blast.
Attack: Intelligence vs. Fortitude
Hit: 1d4 + Intelligence modifier psychic damage
Effect: targets are dazed until the end of your next turn.
Miss: Targets take half damage, and are not dazed.

See No Evil
You fill your enemy’s mind withe distrubing imagery, until he chooses to see nothing at all.
Encounter * Mental, Mindlink
Standard Action Ranged 10
Target: one creature
Attack: Intelligence vs Will
Hit: 1 + Charisma Modifier psychic damage.
Effect: Target is blinded until the end of your next turn. Release a mindlink with the target.
Sustain (minor): Target is blinded.  When you no longer sustain this power, release a mindlink with the target.

Hear No Evil
Your opponent can no longer hear anything but the voices in his head that torment him.
Encounter * Mindlink, charm
Standard Action Ranged 10
Target: one creature
Attack: Intelligence vs Will
Hit: 1 + Charisma Modifier psychic damage.
Effect: Target is deafened until the end of your next turn. Release a mindlink with the target.
Sustain (minor): Target is deafened.  When you no longer sustain this power, release a mindlink with the target.

Seeds of Doubt
Doubt blooms like a dark rose in your adversaries.
Encounter * Mental, Fear
Standard Action burst 1 within 10 squares
Target: each creature in burst
Attack: Wisdom vs Will
Hit: 2d6 + charisma modifier pschic damage.
Effect: each target suffers a penalty to Will equal to 1 + you Charisma modifier until the end of your next turn.

Level 1 Daily Thoughts

My Will is Greater
There is no question whose mind is stronger as you implant your directives into your enemy’s mind.
Daily * Mental, Mindlink, charm
Standard Action Ranged 10
Target: one creature.
Attack: Intelligence vs. Will
Effect: Target is dominated until the end of your next turn. At the end of your next turn, release a mindlink with the target.

Fear of the Unspoken Word
The most terrifying things are those that are yet unnamed and unknown.  You release these things into your foes’ thoughts and they flee in terror.
Daily * Mental, Mindlink, fear
Standard Action
Target: All creatures you have a mindlink with.
Attack: Wisdom versus Will
Effect:  Targets move away from you at their speed + your Charisma modifier.  The fleeing targets avoid unsafe squares and difficult squares if it can. This movement provokes opportunity attacks.

You Shall Not Harm
You plant visions of the target’s superiority in the minds of your foes.
Daily * Mental, Mindlink, Charm
Standard Action
Target: You or one ally.
Attack: Wisdom vs. Will
Effect: Target gains +2 defense against all creatures you have a mindlink with.

Level 2 Utility Thoughts

Kill with Kindness
As you speak, you overwhelm your victim with kind thoughts and flattery.  They feel so good talking with you that they don’t notice the danger that they’re in.
Encounter * Mental, Charm
Minor Action
Target: You
Effect: Gain a +5 on your next Diplomacy check

Shattered Nerves
A well-timed disrupting thought ruins your victim’s steady hands.
Daily * Mental, Charm
Immediate Interrupt Ranged 10
Trigger: An target rolls a 1d20
Target: One creature
Effect: The target suffers a penalty on its next 1d20 roll equal to 1 + your intelligence modifier.

Indomitable Will
All it takes is a moment to center yourself with the words, “I will never surrender”, and you have built an impregnable barrier around your thoughts.
Daily * Mental
Immediate Interrupt Personal
Target: You
Effect: Gain a +5 to Will until the end of your next turn.

Level 3 Encounter Thoughts

Remain Unseen
You redraw the environment in your victim’s mind without you or an ally in it.
Encounter * Mental, Mindlink
Minor Action Personal
Target: You or an ally
Attack: Wisdom vs. Will
Effect: You or the target are invisible to all creatures you have a mindlink with until the end of your next turn.

Chains of Suffering.
The channels establish between the mind of you and your opponents now become chains, constricting his mind and thoughts.
Encounter * Mental, Mindlink
Standard Action Ranged 10
Target: one creature
Attack: Intelligence vs. will
Effect: Release all mindlinks that you have with the target.  For each mindlink released, deal your 1 + your intelligence modifier psychic damage.  The target is dazed until the start of your next turn.
Miss: Release all mindlinks and do half damage. The target is not dazed.

Break the Mind, Destroy the Body.
Already in a confused state, you introduce weakness into your foe’s body.
Encounter * Mental
Standard Action Ranged 10
Target: one dazed or stunned creature
Attack: Intelligence vs. Fortitude
Hit: Deal 2d6 + Charisma modifier psychic damage.
Effect: Creature becomes weakened.

The Blind May Sleep
You amplify the darkness of your blinded foes until it becomes an oblivion that they fall into.
Encounter * Mental, Sleep
Standard Action burst 10
Target: All blinded creatures within burst
Attack: Wisdom versus Fortitude
Effect: Each target becomes unconscious (save ends).