Friday, February 20, 2009
correlon and gruumsh
as i mentioned in a prior post, i have long envisioned corellon using a bow to pluck out gruumsh's eye, and i was happy to see wotc change the story from a sword to a bow. but now, i am having some trouble with this new rendition of the story. i will explain.
d&d has long associated certain races with the favored weapon of its creator god--for example, dwarves/hammers/moradin and gnolls/flails/yeenoghu.
in 4e, gods do not have official favored weapons, however, i believe that the tradition of certain gods being associated with certain weapons persists. we still have dwarves/hammers/moradin and gnolls/flails/yeenoghu. here is where it gets tricky: in 4e, eladrin are proficient with swords and elves are proficient with bows. if we assume (and i know, we are assuming) that these proficiencies have something to do with the favored weapons of their patron deities, then that might suggest that corellon, in fact, favors the sword (wotc has not yet done a write-up for corellon). now some may say that elves and eladrin were of the same race. but i say that eladrin remained closest to corellon. elves moved to the natural world and adopted the bow over the sword. so i deduce that correlon favors a sword rather than a bow. and if he favors a sword, then most likely, corellon was wielding a sword when he fought gruumsh, and used a sword to pluck out gruumsh's eye.
sadly, i do not like this sword rendition of the story. i believe that gruumsh is the greater melee warrior of the two.
so, what am i to do?
well, i have considered reshuffling the god/primordial rivalries (in a prior post, i mentioned that gruumsh should be a primordial). perhaps melora, who i see as the elves' patron deity, favors the bow among weapons and perhaps she plucked out gruumsh's eye. replacing corellon with melora as the eye-plucker would be killing a sacred cow, but hey, new editions of d&d are precisely when such changes are best considered.
another hiccup is the fact that melora already has a rivalry with baphomet, just as the raven queen has a rivalry with orcus. i want to maintain the rivalry between elves and orcs, two natural races, so the patron deity of elves would be a good choice, but i do not want to clump too many rivalries onto a single god. also, who then would serve as a foil to corellon? perhaps demogorgon. that would be a wonderful myth/story to create. yum.
mual-tar was fought by three gods: pelor, moradin and bahamut. perhaps, in similar fashion, melora assisted corellon in his battle with gruumsh. perhaps, she plucked out gruush's eye with her bow, thus giving birth to the enmity between orcs and elves. baphomet's rivalry with melora, on the other hand, pertains to the power over nature.
d&d has long associated certain races with the favored weapon of its creator god--for example, dwarves/hammers/moradin and gnolls/flails/yeenoghu.
in 4e, gods do not have official favored weapons, however, i believe that the tradition of certain gods being associated with certain weapons persists. we still have dwarves/hammers/moradin and gnolls/flails/yeenoghu. here is where it gets tricky: in 4e, eladrin are proficient with swords and elves are proficient with bows. if we assume (and i know, we are assuming) that these proficiencies have something to do with the favored weapons of their patron deities, then that might suggest that corellon, in fact, favors the sword (wotc has not yet done a write-up for corellon). now some may say that elves and eladrin were of the same race. but i say that eladrin remained closest to corellon. elves moved to the natural world and adopted the bow over the sword. so i deduce that correlon favors a sword rather than a bow. and if he favors a sword, then most likely, corellon was wielding a sword when he fought gruumsh, and used a sword to pluck out gruumsh's eye.
sadly, i do not like this sword rendition of the story. i believe that gruumsh is the greater melee warrior of the two.
so, what am i to do?
well, i have considered reshuffling the god/primordial rivalries (in a prior post, i mentioned that gruumsh should be a primordial). perhaps melora, who i see as the elves' patron deity, favors the bow among weapons and perhaps she plucked out gruumsh's eye. replacing corellon with melora as the eye-plucker would be killing a sacred cow, but hey, new editions of d&d are precisely when such changes are best considered.
another hiccup is the fact that melora already has a rivalry with baphomet, just as the raven queen has a rivalry with orcus. i want to maintain the rivalry between elves and orcs, two natural races, so the patron deity of elves would be a good choice, but i do not want to clump too many rivalries onto a single god. also, who then would serve as a foil to corellon? perhaps demogorgon. that would be a wonderful myth/story to create. yum.
mual-tar was fought by three gods: pelor, moradin and bahamut. perhaps, in similar fashion, melora assisted corellon in his battle with gruumsh. perhaps, she plucked out gruush's eye with her bow, thus giving birth to the enmity between orcs and elves. baphomet's rivalry with melora, on the other hand, pertains to the power over nature.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
improving the warlock class
from a game fluff standpoint, i think it is weird--in fact, inappropriate--that a warlock can select powers from pacts other than his designated pact. why would a warlock who has aligned himself with a fey spirit be able to access powers that are bestowed by an infernal entity?
although it would be a significant shift in the rules regarding warlocks, i think that warlocks should be limited to powers granted by their own pact. i acknowledge that currently, relying only upon the phb, this is impractical. however, wotc could utilize such additional sources as arcane power and dragon magazine to fully flesh out each existing pact to make this change possible.
currently, the strength-based paladin is not a completely independent class (e.g., see level 9 paladin powers), but i anticipate that divine power will correct this shortcoming. in similar fashion, the warlock pacts could, and should, be made entirely independent of each other.
again, i emphasize that a warlock's powers derive from a source. the warlock makes a pact with an entity that is capable of bestowing certain powers upon the warlock. that should be the extent of the warlock's class powers, no cross pollination allowed.
on a separate warlock topic, i think that the star pact was a failed experiment of MAD. the wonderful dragon article on star pact warlocks helped them considerably, but what we now have are essentially two pacts called star pact, one that is charisma-based and one that is constitution-based.
lastly, i still think that mechanically it was a mistake to make fey pact a better fit for tieflings than infernal pact.
although it would be a significant shift in the rules regarding warlocks, i think that warlocks should be limited to powers granted by their own pact. i acknowledge that currently, relying only upon the phb, this is impractical. however, wotc could utilize such additional sources as arcane power and dragon magazine to fully flesh out each existing pact to make this change possible.
currently, the strength-based paladin is not a completely independent class (e.g., see level 9 paladin powers), but i anticipate that divine power will correct this shortcoming. in similar fashion, the warlock pacts could, and should, be made entirely independent of each other.
again, i emphasize that a warlock's powers derive from a source. the warlock makes a pact with an entity that is capable of bestowing certain powers upon the warlock. that should be the extent of the warlock's class powers, no cross pollination allowed.
on a separate warlock topic, i think that the star pact was a failed experiment of MAD. the wonderful dragon article on star pact warlocks helped them considerably, but what we now have are essentially two pacts called star pact, one that is charisma-based and one that is constitution-based.
lastly, i still think that mechanically it was a mistake to make fey pact a better fit for tieflings than infernal pact.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Functional Template - Drider
Drider
A drider was a powerful drow priest of Lolth whose devotion was satisfactorily tested by Lolth and who was gifted with a semblance of her god’s spider form. Most, although not all, matron mothers are driders. Drow believe that a drow house that does not have a drider for a matron mother is experiencing the displeasure and punishment of Lolth. Such houses face stigma and some prejudice from the greater drow community. A drow house with two or more driders is regarded as blessed by Lolth. As the favored of Lolth, all driders, whether matron mother or not, enjoy considerable power and authority in drow society. Since all drow priests are female, a male drider is a rare and socially complicated circumstance for drow society. Driders often dispense with weapons, instead relying upon their two blade-like front claws and their bite for melee.
Drider is a template you can apply to any drow priest and, rarely, other drow who have dedicated their lives to the service of Lolth. If you are modifying a nonplayer character, this template works best with the cleric.
Prerequisite: Level 11, Drow Priest or drow worshiper of Lolth
______________________________________
Drider
Elite Soldier
Large fey humanoid (spider)
XP Elite
Defenses +2 AC; +4 Fortitude, +2 Reflex
Resist 5 + 1/2 level poison
Saving Throws +2
Speed 8, climb 8 (spider climb)
Size Large
Action Point 1
Hit Points +8 per level + Constitution score
______________________________________
POWERS
M-B Claw (standard; at-will) Poison
Level +4 vs. AC; 1d8 + 7 damage, and the drider makes a secondary attack against the same target. Secondary Attack: Level +2 vs. Fortitude; target takes a –2 penalty to attack rolls (save ends). First Failed Save: The target is also weakened (save ends). Second Failed Save: The target falls unconscious until the end of the encounter.
M Double Attack (standard; at-will) Poison
The drider makes two claw attacks.
M Quick Bite (minor; at-will) Poison
Requires combat advantage; Level +2 vs. Fortitude; 1d4 damage, and ongoing Constitution modifier + 1/2 level poison damage (save ends). If applicable, REPLACES Drow Priest Bite of the Spider.
R Web (standard; recharge 4 5 6 )
Ranged 5; Level +2 vs. Reflex; the target is restrained (until escape). Escaping from the web requires a successful DC Level +12 Acrobatics check or Level +12 Athletics check.
Spider Link (minor; at-will) Healing
The drider can transfer up to its healing surge value of points of damage she has taken to a spider or a drow within 5 squares of her. She cannot transfer more hit points than the creature has remaining. If applicable, REPLACES Drow Priest Spider Link.
A drider was a powerful drow priest of Lolth whose devotion was satisfactorily tested by Lolth and who was gifted with a semblance of her god’s spider form. Most, although not all, matron mothers are driders. Drow believe that a drow house that does not have a drider for a matron mother is experiencing the displeasure and punishment of Lolth. Such houses face stigma and some prejudice from the greater drow community. A drow house with two or more driders is regarded as blessed by Lolth. As the favored of Lolth, all driders, whether matron mother or not, enjoy considerable power and authority in drow society. Since all drow priests are female, a male drider is a rare and socially complicated circumstance for drow society. Driders often dispense with weapons, instead relying upon their two blade-like front claws and their bite for melee.
Drider is a template you can apply to any drow priest and, rarely, other drow who have dedicated their lives to the service of Lolth. If you are modifying a nonplayer character, this template works best with the cleric.
Prerequisite: Level 11, Drow Priest or drow worshiper of Lolth
______________________________________
Drider
Elite Soldier
Large fey humanoid (spider)
XP Elite
Defenses +2 AC; +4 Fortitude, +2 Reflex
Resist 5 + 1/2 level poison
Saving Throws +2
Speed 8, climb 8 (spider climb)
Size Large
Action Point 1
Hit Points +8 per level + Constitution score
______________________________________
POWERS
M-B Claw (standard; at-will) Poison
Level +4 vs. AC; 1d8 + 7 damage, and the drider makes a secondary attack against the same target. Secondary Attack: Level +2 vs. Fortitude; target takes a –2 penalty to attack rolls (save ends). First Failed Save: The target is also weakened (save ends). Second Failed Save: The target falls unconscious until the end of the encounter.
M Double Attack (standard; at-will) Poison
The drider makes two claw attacks.
M Quick Bite (minor; at-will) Poison
Requires combat advantage; Level +2 vs. Fortitude; 1d4 damage, and ongoing Constitution modifier + 1/2 level poison damage (save ends). If applicable, REPLACES Drow Priest Bite of the Spider.
R Web (standard; recharge 4 5 6 )
Ranged 5; Level +2 vs. Reflex; the target is restrained (until escape). Escaping from the web requires a successful DC Level +12 Acrobatics check or Level +12 Athletics check.
Spider Link (minor; at-will) Healing
The drider can transfer up to its healing surge value of points of damage she has taken to a spider or a drow within 5 squares of her. She cannot transfer more hit points than the creature has remaining. If applicable, REPLACES Drow Priest Spider Link.
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