Goblin PC

I posted this on some other threads (one on RPGnet, the other on EN World), but I wanted to list my 4e goblin PC write-up here. I wrote it for my friend Brenden's goblin bard:

Goblin

RACIAL TRAITS
Average Height: 3'4" - 3'8"
Average Weight: 40 - 55

Ability scores: +2 Charisma, +2 Dexterity
Size: Small
Speed: 6 squares.
Vision: Low-light

Languages: Common, Goblin
Skill Bonuses: +2 Stealth, +2 Thievery.
Devious Scamper: You gain a +2 bonus to speed during the surprise rounds and the first non-surprise round of any combat.
Goblin Reflexes: You gain a +1 racial bonus to your Reflex defense.
Goblin Tactics: You can have the goblin tactics power.
Goblin Vigor: You gain a +5 bonus to defenses made against disease attacks, to saving throws made to avoid contracting a disease, and to Endurance checks to determine disease progression.

Goblin Tactics
You avoid your enemy’s blow and cleverly slink past his defenses.
At-Will
Immediate Reaction Personal
Trigger: You are missed by a melee attack.
Effect: You shift 1 square.

Githzerai

I like the Githzerai. They have a cool backstory of once being a slave race to mindflayers, splitting with their githyanki brethren, and then developing an ascetic monastic tradition. The only thing I don't like about them so much is how they're "native" to the Elemental Chaos - they're "population center" is in a plane that most traditional campaigns will never get to until paragon levels.

I'd rather githzerai be "centered" in the regular world than another plane of existence. So to that end I'm going to say that they are extraterrestrials, having broken away from their githyanki ancestors ages ago and alighting on the campaign world. I imagine that, when the githzerai landed, psionic power was in more limited supply. So over time, they adopted ascetic traditions that husbanded their psionic energy as their technology gradually broke down and/or failed to operate on the campaign world.

I like this take on the githzerai because it more firmly places them in the world, gives them a science fantasy angle (I've become fond of that genre lately), leaves open the idea of space-faring githyanki hunting them, and also sets up the possibility that some of their old, forgotten tech is still out there. With the Far Realm's proximity to the world, perhaps more psionic energy is availble to power these ancient vessels.

Tying githzerai to the real world appeals so much to me I'll probably go a similar route for other planar races, such as genasi, shadar-kai, or eladrin.

The Cyclops

I've never been a huge fan of 4e's take on cyclopses. Basically, they're giant fey "muscle" for the fomorians. That's fine and all, but it seems a little dissonant compared to how cyclopses have been portrayed in earlier editions of D&D and their classical sources (where they more like brutes if anything).

In my campaign, I think I'll make cyclopses related to orcs. Perhaps during Gruumsh's mythic battle with Correllon, some of the spilled blood from Gruumsh's eye washed onto Gruumsh's most loyal servitors. "Anointed" by this blood, they became one eyed like their patron and transformed into cyclopses.

I'm not sure if making cyclops into bigger orcs is necessarily a move up in the world , but I like it. It feels truer to mythology and D&D lore, which is a good thing in my opinion.

Constitution as the Luck Stat

I was reading the AD&D 1e DMG, enjoying my swim in the sea of Gygaxian prose, when I came across the discussion on page 82 about hit points.

It is quite unreasonable to assume that as a character gains levels of ability in his or her class that a corresponding gain in actual ability to sustain physical damage takes place. It is preposterous to state such an assumption, for if we are to assume that a man is killed by a sword thrust which does 4 hit points of damage, we must similarly assume that a hero could, on the average, withstand five such thrusts before being slain! Why then the increase in hit points? Because these reflect both the actual physical ability of the character to withstand damage - as indicated by constitution bonuses- and a commensurate increase in such areas as skill in combat and similar life-or-death situations, the "sixth sense" which warns the individual of some otherwise unforeseen events, sheer luck, and the fantastic provisions of magical protections and/or divine protection. Therefore, constitution affects both actual ability to withstand physical punishment hit points (physique) and the immeasurable areas which involve the sixth sense and luck (fitness).

I find the last sentence striking. While I've long come around to the idea that hit points are highly abstract, representing healthiness, divine favor, fighting spirit, etc. in addition to the physical "pieces of meat," it never occurred to me to apply that same logic to Constitution. For as long as I can recall, I've been associating it with actual physical health, and thinking about it as anything but that creates some dissonance for me.

But the more I consider it, the more I like Constitution as an abstract conglomeration of luck, vitality, and health. Of all the stats, Constitution best represents the character's vitality, vigor, and life force, the interface between the character's intangible soul and base matter. Characters with high Constitutions, somehow, possess more of this animating energy. Perhaps it's because they are physically large - when lots of matter accumulates, more of the animating energy is present. Or perhaps individuals are just able to utilize it more effectively, consciously or unconsciously tapping into a "sixth" sense. A high Constitution represents not only the source of energy to effect change in the physical world, but also the energy to power the soul and fight against the currents of fate.

I like this take on Constitution because it implies that it can be active, as opposed to primarily reactive, defensive stat. In 4e at least, it helps explain why classes might use it as an attack stat. Battleminds might have learned how to psionically harness this energy. Warlocks might be "tithing" a portion of their life force to their patrons (I'm now totally sold on a completely Con-based warlock).

Revised Scorching Burst

Here's scorching burst with a minor tweak to make it just a little more Controllery:

Rangers

Since 4e's release, there have been many ideas for a Martial Controller class. I felt the Savant class I proposed a while back could make a good Martial Controller, but an idea that slowly gained currency in my mind is making the ranger a Martial Controller. Indeed, here are a few choice excerpts from the ranger class description in the 4e PH:

"Rangers are watchful warriors who roam past the horizon to safeguard a region, a principle, or a way of life...

"As a ranger, you possess almost supernaturally keen senses and a deep appreciation for untamed wilderness. With your knowledge of the natural world, you are able to track enemies through nearly any landscape..."

This is not unlike my idea for a savant class - a warrior who's percepting and cunning. So why totally reinvent the wheel? It's far better in my opinion to use traditional elements in a new way.

However, to make this work, I don't think rangers can continue to be primarily based on Strength or Dexterity. I think these ability scores should remain important for rangers, but I'm beginning to think that Wisdom would make the best primary score for this class. And once you think of Wisdom as being the primary ability score for rangers, the feel of the class changes dramatically. Now we have warriors who are keen-eyed, able to exploit openings as they perceive them. Their instincts would be honed to perfection, allowing them to react to situations with amazing quickness. And a high Wisdom helps firm up the instinctual connection between beastmaster rangers and their beasts.

So thematically I think it's great. But the class would have to change. Oh, it still would be composed of melee and ranged specialists, but ranger exploits would change to accommodate their new Controller role. For example, I'm thinking of making Twin Strike a melee power (bow rangers would get Rapid Shot as a ranged equivalent) that would be something like this:


I like this because it makes fighting the ranger a matter of positioning. If monsters don't want to have the -2 penalty to hit, they will have to move away. Depending on how the ranger positions himself, this may lead to further headaches for the creature. This is, in my opinion, the essence of the Controller role.

Obviously more work needs to be done. But I'll try to keep chipping away at it until I get a nice suite of powers.

Iuz

It's taken me some time, but here's my first try at statting up "old Iuz of fearbabe talk." Admittedly, it's a massive wall of text ... click on the image if you want to see it full size.

I'll be interested in hearing other peoples' thoughts on it, but already I'm thinking that a fight with Iuz might be better as a staged encounter. In the first stage, the PCs will take on the Boneheart and Iuz in his manikin form. I might lower Iuz's levels a bit in this case - maybe he'd be 22. The second stage begins a round or two after Iuz "dies" - he "returns" in his demonic form as a solo creature. Two simpler stat blocks would be better than one more complex one, IMO.

With respect to this stat block, I just realized I need to mention something about his soul gems. I have to add those in a future version. I also tried to hit on Iuz's "iconic" abilities. His greatsword, strangling grasp, cloak, horrific visage, and spittle were mentioned in ToEE. The cloak is based on an Amulet of Double Fortune. "Shadow Step" and "Finger of Death" are nods to Iuz's Assassin abilities. "Unkindness of Ravens" was inspired from From the Ashes, which says Iuz can "summon vast storms of ferocious ravens and bony bat-like magical creatures from the Outer Planes." I'm not sure what the "bony bat-like" creatures could be, but I'd like to stat that up. And "Gnarled Staff" and "Gaze of the Old One" are powers I just made up because I thought they would be cool.

Again, it's quite a lot, and I'm not sure how often some of those powers would show up (particularly "Strangling Grasp"). I'm also not so sure at-will shifting between forms will be cool or not. If anyone happens to play out a fight with this write-up, let me know.