Simple Q&A D&D 4e Thread II: Electric Boogaloo

[Ecoman]

Q116

Hi if i do a warlock bust attack and all enemys within the burst are cursed do i apply my extra warlock curse damage to all enemys?

Thank you

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Q116

Hi if i do a warlock bust attack and all enemys within the burst are cursed do i apply my extra warlock curse damage to all enemys?

Thank you

No. You can only apply the extra damage to one target.

Grey Wolf

[BlckDv]

Q116

Hi if i do a warlock bust attack and all enemys within the burst are cursed do i apply my extra warlock curse damage to all enemys?

Thank you

A 116

The Warlock's Curse power says that you elect to apply this bonus damage after you have rolled damage. To me that reads that selecting the target is the use of the extra damage you are entitled to, and selecting a second target would be a second use. That is not made 100% clear, but given that the Sneak Attack Rogue feature has similar effect (once per turn when you have combat advantage and hit with a...) and requires a specific feat to apply the bonus damage to more than one target even if you hit several with CA as one attack, that would seem to be the intended reading.

[Mandrake]

Q 117

I don't have any errata (where can I find it for free, as I heard it is, actually?), so I want to know how often can a Warlock use his Curse bonus damage, and how often can a Rogue do Sneak attack?

It was once per round and once per turn for the other, if I'm right, but please correct me. Thank you.

[Kurald Galain]

A 117

Of course it's free, just google it already.

Both curse and sneak attack are 1/turn now; hunter's quarry is still 1/round.

[Badgerish]

4ed Errata is called 'Rules Updates' now and available for free at:
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Article.a...updatesarchive

Warlock's Curse:
... If you hit a cursed enemy with an attack, you deal extra damage. You decide whether to apply the extra damage after making the damage roll. You can deal this extra damage only once per turn....

[ghost_warlock]

Q 118

How does adding energy types to powers work with powers that deal untyped damage? Does the power deal exclusively the new energy type or does it deal untyped and the energy type (makes a difference mostly for dealing with resistances/vulnerabilities)?

For instance, if I use Arcane Admixture to add acid to a warlock's eldritch blast, does e.b. now deal just acid damage or "untyped and acid"? Another example is the warlock power Vestige's Calamity, which deals untyped damage but for vestige-pact warlocks it also deals extra cold, fire, lightning, and thunder damage if the target is cursed.

[NecroRebel]

A 518 (For some reason we dropped 400 from the numbers)

"Untyped" is not a damage type. If you add a type to an attack that has none, that power now has 1 damage type.

Vestige's Calamity, by the way, would deal 2d8+Con(+whatever other static mods you have) untyped damage, and then Int cold/fire/lightning/thunder damage if you've got the target cursed. The main damage roll wouldn't be cold/fire/lightning/thunder damage.

[LaZodiac]

Q519: Do summoned creatures' attack and damage rolls benefit from the summoner's implement bonuses, if the summon spell has "implement" keyword in it

And, if I may ask another question...


Q520: When something interrupts the TARGETTING of an ability, can the ability just be retargetted and refired, in the same turn, without being used the FIRST time?

[tcrudisi]

Q519: Do summoned creatures' attack and damage rolls benefit from the summoner's implement bonuses, if the summon spell has "implement" keyword in it

And, if I may ask another question...


Q520: When something interrupts the TARGETTING of an ability, can the ability just be retargetted and refired, in the same turn, without being used the FIRST time?

Short answers?

Yes - the rules say somewhere that when a summons attacks, it is the caster who is actually making the attack. All bonuses the caster has, the summons has. Think of the summons as an extra arm for the caster, except with it's own hit points.

Can you give the power in question for the second question?

[Kurald Galain]

Q520: When something interrupts the TARGETTING of an ability, can the ability just be retargetted and refired, in the same turn, without being used the FIRST time?

A520 No. If your action or power (or indeed, any decision) is invalidated as a result of an interrupt, you do not get to retarget it nor do something else with your action. This is basically the point of interrupts.

[LaZodiac]

Short answers?

Yes - the rules say somewhere that when a summons attacks, it is the caster who is actually making the attack. All bonuses the caster has, the summons has. Think of the summons as an extra arm for the caster, except with it's own hit points.

Can you give the power in question for the second question?

I'm really asking for a friend, he was refering to interruption abilities on monsters. Don't know which one he was specificly talking about, can get it though!

Also, thanks to you and Kurald for the answers!

[tcrudisi]

I'm really asking for a friend, he was refering to interruption abilities on monsters. Don't know which one he was specificly talking about, can get it though!

Also, thanks to you and Kurald for the answers!

Then, I'll second Kurald. Unless the power specifies otherwise (and as a monster power, it won't), the interrupt will invalidate the attack. It's basically a wasted action.

[LaZodiac]

Welp, this is gonna be the equivilent of giving him cake then slapping it out of his hands, but he'll deal.

Q521: Is it possible, with powers like Vampire Slam and the like, to punch people into the air so they take falling damage?

[allonym]

A521:

No.

Long answer: Forced movement (apart from teleportation) is explicitly two-dimensional. Exceptions to this are where the terrain itself is three dimensional, where it follows the terrain (you can push someone off a cliff, or down or up a staircase) and where the target is already moving in three dimensions (if they are flying, you can slide them up or down; the same applies if they are underwater).

[NothingButCake]

Q522: Does Rampaging Thoughts modify the racial bonus to AC when charging (replacing +2 with whichever of your Con or Wis modifier is higher) or does it stack with the racial bonus? It reads like it simply re-sets Heedless Charge ("The bonus to AC...is equal...") to me but I wanted to make sure for the player.

[Badgerish]

A522

It's poorly written (should say "the racial bonus"), but it replaces the normal Minotaur bonus in my reading

You have a +2 racial bonus to AC against opportunity attacks you provoke during a charge.

Prerequisite: Minotaur, any psionic class
Benefit: The bonus to AC against opportunity attacks provoked from your charge attack is equal to the higher of your Constitution or Wisdom modifier.

[Alan_Pehnereas]

Q 523:

A hybrid can use implements from either class for either classes' implement powers.

The benefit to Crossbow Caster feat reads "You can use a crossbow as an implement for your artificer powers and artificer paragon path powers." Does this mean I can use it for all of my powers because of my hybridocity, or is it only for Artificer powers because of the feat's wording?

Thanks!

[ArcturusV]

A 523:

It should apply to both. The wording on Crossbow Caster isn't really specific to Crossbow Caster, it's the general wording that they use for Implement Use for... well... everything. Every class entry, every feat, says "You can use ____ for your _____ powers and _____ paragon path powers with the implement keyword."

Since the phrasing isn't unique... call it a general ruling. And thus the hybrid rules entry applies.

[Tegu8788]

A 523

No, you can't. Specific overrides general. The feat says Artificer powers, then it only applies to Artificer powers. Same for the Songblades or Pact Blades, much to my chagrin when making Paladin hybrids.

[Dimers]

A 523, confirmation

Tegu's right. You can use any implement with which you have proficiency for all your powers, but Crossbow Caster's wording doesn't make crossbows an implement. It only lets you use them as an implement for certain powers. Furthermore, the wording in the feat is NOT used as the general rule, post-Essentials. From this site:

Going forward, the Dungeons & Dragons game will feature a system of proficiency with implements that works just like weapon proficiencies. If you are proficient with an implement, you can use it with any of your implement powers. It doesn’t matter where that power comes from—a paragon path, a different class, a new build, whatever—you can use any implement that you’re proficient with to use your power.

Previously, a power’s class determined the implements that could function with it. This change was made to make it easier to understand how implements interact with powers and to make multiclassing less arduous.

[Alan_Pehnereas]

Thanks for that! That helps!

Q 524:

If two actions have the same trigger, can they both be triggered?

More specifically, the combat challenge feature of the Fighter allows me to make an MBA as an immediate interrupt when a marked target shifts, while the (Tactical) Warpriest PP let's me make an opportunity attack against a target that shifts.

So if they shift, does it let me trigger both the immediate interrupt MBA and opportunity attack MBA?

[tcrudisi]

Thanks for that! That helps!

Q 524:

If two actions have the same trigger, can they both be triggered?

More specifically, the combat challenge feature of the Fighter allows me to make an MBA as an immediate interrupt when a marked target shifts, while the (Tactical) Warpriest PP let's me make an opportunity attack against a target that shifts.

So if they shift, does it let me trigger both the immediate interrupt MBA and opportunity attack MBA?

Yes.

10 character minimum.

[Badgerish]

Q 525
When a creature is Dominated, can the creature dominating it make it attack itself with a ranged/melee attack?

Not looking to have the creature CdG itself or auto-hit, just attack itself with CA

pro:
doesn't say you can't
If they have an at-will area-burst burst attack (e.g. Scorching Burst), you can certainly drop that on your square

con:
doesn't say you can
mentions the saving throw if commanded to jump off ledges, but that's a standard rule

[Kurald Galain]

A 525
That depends on what the creature's at-will attacks have as their target line. Some at-wills target a creature, some target an enemy, some target an adjacent creature, etc.

[obryn]

A525

When a creature is Dominated, can the creature dominating it make it attack itself with a ranged/melee attack?

Expect "significant table variation" with Dominate.

It looks like it was written mostly to have a monster attack one of its buddies. However, there's a list of stuff that may or may not be kosher, depending on the DM.

• Attack itself
• Run wildly through your allies, provoking OAs
• Hand the Fighter its weapons/implements
• ...etc...

In my own games, I tend to rule towards "aggressive" actions like attacking something or even itself if no allies are convenient. Running through and drawing OAs is also generally kosher, but moreso if it's charging someone in the process. Disarming itself isn't "aggressive" and so I tend not to allow it.

Anyway, those are just my own rulings, and there's nothing in the rules to support them. It's just an illustration of expected table variation.

-O

[Kurald Galain]

• Attack itself
• Run wildly through your allies, provoking OAs
• Hand the Fighter its weapons/implements
• ...etc...

Nastiest thing I've seen with dominate is attacking an ally with a ranged attack, thus provoking OAs from three adjacent enemies.

Funniest thing I've done with dominate as a DM is to force the dominated PC to hand over the McGuffin he was holding. That was a big "wait, what?" moment for the players :D

[obryn]

Nastiest thing I've seen with dominate is attacking an ally with a ranged attack, thus provoking OAs from three adjacent enemies.

Awesome. I've seen that, too, when there's a Battlemind and Berserker both in the mix for some incredibly damaging mark-violation shenanigans, too...

My general rule of thumb is a kind of cold-war-style escalation with my players. "However nasty you guys get with Dominate tricks, I'll do the same." That's where the "aggression" rule of thumb comes from.

-O

[obryn]

Q526
So Arcane Admixture... Does it add its keyword to all damage in a spell effect, or just the original damage (whatever that may be)?

Example, which scares me to death. The party's Wizard (played by a player who wanted to re-build to a Striker) has been transformed/possessed by a primordial spirit and has been completely re-specced to a Water Elementalist. (It's Athas, but it makes perfect sense in the context of the current adventure; trust me. I can detail it elsewhere if you're curious.)

In addition to Elemental Bolt and Ice Prison, He has Static Charge as his third At-Will.

If he takes Arcane Admixture to snap Cold onto the power, we get the following scenario.

Let's say 4 targets in his blast. He attacks each of them, dealing 1d8+27 Lightning+Cold. The first target he hits gets his Lasting Frost and deals damage to one of the other dudes.

Now... If he hits the other guys, is the "static" damage Cold + Lightning as well? For 15 more damage on top of the normal 18?

[Yakk]

Q526
Yes. Damage type charop is one of the areas of decent damage charop in 4e.

A decent way to exploit this is to add "cold" vulnerability, then deal small amounts of small static cold damage to the target repeatedly.