[D&D 4e] The Origins Expedition (Full, Starting)

[Liquidor]

Xun Ira

What is everyone playing?

Joseph has a Psion built [controller]
Rain has declared a battle cleric [primary: striker ; secondary: leader]
Kytana has a Warlord [leader]

I hope to play a Cleric/Avenger/Wizard [primary: striker ; secondary: leader/controller]  

[Gender Ender]

Wow, they uh...they really do hate you, wow. Have fun with point buy!

So far we evidently have a Psion (me), a Warlord (Kyt), a war Cleric (Rain), and some sort of Avenger Gish (Liquidor).
Lots of leaders, no defenders, one each of controller and striker, technically speaking...although, yeah, battle cleric.

EDIT: Beaten to the punch!

DOUBLE EDIT:
Since there aren't any mounts for Tiny characters, mounts are super-cool, and I like inventing things, I made this...thing.
It's probably terrible, but if you like it that puts paid to about 2,600 of my excess gold.
Contains bonus completely unauthorized and wrong setting information!

show spoilerhide spoiler

Gravecrawler Centipede
Among the pixies of Azmuth, there are numerous tribes and divisions; among the lowest, however, are the Ghost Centipede Tribe of the azure marshes- a trackless, misty waste in which all forms of life have been contaminated by lengthy exposure to unstable Skystone.
When the buzz and wind of beating wings can alert predators, it's often wise to stay on the ground; therefore, the pixies have tamed the carrion-eating vermin of their homeland to serve as mounts, harnessing their hunger.
The most prevalent of these tamed vermin is the Gravecrawler; its name derives from the deaths-head markings on its broad head, along with its taste for dead and dying flesh.



Gravecrawler Centipede [L5 Skirmisher]
Small natural beast (Mount)
HP 60 Bloodied 30
AC 19 Fortitude 19 Reflex 21 Will 17
Speed 8, climb 4 (spider climb)
Saving Throws +2 vs. Ongoing Necrotic

TRAITS
Carrion Hunter (Mount): The rider gains a +1 to damage rolls against bloodied creatures.
Swamp Walk: The centipede ignores difficult terrain consisting of shallow water and mud.
STANDARD ACTIONS
Bilious Bite (Acid)| At-Will
Attack: Melee 1 (One creature); +10 vs. AC
Hit: 1d8+4 and ongoing 1 Acid damage (save ends).
MOVE ACTIONS
Ravening Scuttle |At-Will
Requirement: Charnel Venom must have been triggered in this encounter.
Effect: The centipede shifts 4 squares.
TRIGGERED ACTIONS
Charnel Venom | Encounter
Trigger: An enemy drops to 0 HP within 5 squares of the centipede.
Effect: Enemies suffering ongoing damage from the centipede’s Bite are weakened (save ends).

Skills Stealth +11
Str 14 (+4) Dex 18 (+6) Wis 10 (+2)
Con 12 (+3)Int04 (-1) Cha 08 (+1)
Unaligned

 

[Rain Yupa]

Liquidor

Rain has declared a battle cleric [primary: striker ; secondary: leader]

Primary: Striker? Aww, that's cute.

Plays more like a defender, actually.

That said, ACTUAL strikers or ACTUAL defenders would be nice.  

[Gender Ender]

I'd have to agree; the impact of my inflicting a ******** of debuffs is substantially reduced if we don't have a solid striker to take advantage; ditto for our warlord's buffs.

On the other hand, I'd like a defender to soak up hits while I'm handling clearance and arranging the battlefield, and our Avenger-thingus could use somebody to draw massed fire while they handle single targets....

Balanced party composition is everyone's business! 3nodding  

[Rain Yupa]

I have a little more healing than baseline, but not much. Most of my Clerical goodness comes from buffs (which will go nice with Joseph's debuffs). Thing is, increasing the defenses of the psion in melee range with me or giving the warlord bonuses to hit that she can do herself is kind of pointless for me.

I'd actually rather swap out for a Defender if we really kind of lack the composition we need. It's better than being curbstomped. Perhaps doubly so if Liquidor plays that shenanigans character (which I kind of look down upon, figuring this is Ms. Selini's first DMing experience), since that TOO will bring Cleric to the mix. That's what, 6 Healing/Inspiring Words a combat?  

[Rain Yupa]

Backup defender race? Gnome.

I'm all about the little people.

Okay, if I'm forced to make a back-up, you guys are getting a Gnome Brawler Fighter.  

[Gender Ender]

How does Int/Cha do any defending...? Shenanigans!

Not that I know much about the meatshield portion of the gameplay....but still, I'm curious.  

[Paidi tou Selini]

Owow, sudden burst of activity. o_o And lots of unfriendly dice.

I'll look over and accept or append profiles for anyone who gives the "done" signal. Until then keep up the good work and remember that I'm still floating around for any questions.

Don't worry about shenanigans. I actually kind of want to see the crazy stuff so I know what to watch out for in the main campaign. If you try to be "nice" during the test run I won't learn when it comes time.

Joseph Severn

Bugz

I can definitely sympathize with pixie mount issues, but that one in particular is a bit off compared to other standard mounts. I'd say something more like AC 20, Fort 17, Reflex 18, Will 14. Also ongoing 1 damage is a bit tedious for how little significance it has. May as well just make the bite 1d6 + 1d6 Acid and the Venom Close Burst 1.

Also also, keep in mind that standard mounted combat rules apply. Mainly, you have to have the Mounted Combat feat before you can get your mount's bonuses or use its abilities.  

[Gender Ender]

Okay, sounds good! The defenses are straight-up DMG guidelines, no real adjustment, so change em' up however I like.

Honestly, Vervain just thinks riding around is more ladylike, so the chances of it seeing combat are minimal, but I do like to over-design rather than undershoot.
....that being my way of saying that yes, I'm aware of the mounted combat rules.
It only has attacks just in case we get separated and the poor thing has to defend itself.

Changes to attacks sound good; I'll incorporate them into the statblock and repost it....here goes.

show spoilerhide spoiler

Gravecrawler Centipede
Among the pixies of Azmuth, there are numerous tribes and divisions; among the lowest, however, are the Ghost Centipede Tribe of the azure marshes- a trackless, misty waste in which all forms of life have been contaminated by lengthy exposure to unstable Skystone.
When the buzz and wind of beating wings can alert predators, it's often wise to stay on the ground; therefore, the pixies have tamed the carrion-eating vermin of their homeland to serve as mounts, harnessing their hunger.
The most prevalent of these tamed vermin is the Gravecrawler; its name derives from the deaths-head markings on its broad head, along with its taste for dead and dying flesh.



Gravecrawler Centipede [L5 Skirmisher]
Small natural beast (Mount)
HP 60 Bloodied 30
AC 20 Fortitude 17 Reflex 18 Will 14
Speed 8, climb 4 (spider climb)
Saving Throws +2 vs. Ongoing Necrotic

TRAITS
Carrion Hunter (Mount): The rider gains a +1 to damage rolls against bloodied creatures.
Swamp Walk: The centipede ignores difficult terrain consisting of shallow water and mud.
STANDARD ACTIONS
Bilious Bite (Acid)| At-Will
Attack: Melee 1 (One creature); +10 vs. AC
Hit: 1d6 damage plus 1d6 additional acid damage.
MOVE ACTIONS
Ravening Scuttle |At-Will
Requirement: Digestive Spray must have been triggered in this encounter.
Effect: The centipede shifts 4 squares.
TRIGGERED ACTIONS
Digestive Spray | Encounter
Trigger: An enemy drops to 0 HP within 5 squares of the centipede.
Effect: The centipede's next Bite attack is Close Burst 1.

Skills Stealth +11
Str 14 (+4) Dex 18 (+6) Wis 10 (+2)
Con 12 (+3)Int04 (-1) Cha 08 (+1)
Unaligned

How's that? Also curious what you think of the background on it, since it's your setting. ^^;

Other than that, my sheet's pretty much done!  

[Rain Yupa]

Sergei now only needs a background.

He's a simple cleric. Shivs evil in the name of his goddess.  

[Liquidor]

Paidi tou Selini

3 1/2 hours later: I have the character sheet done. I think. Let me know if there's anything you want me to change.

Emrakul: An avenger who part-times as a cleric with some wizard powers.
edit: I'll work on a background soon.

The original idea behind the theory build was to push AC to the max. Threw it together like 2 years ago, when i got DDI and just messed with a lot of compositions for ideas.

The build was played in an Encounter season. As a drow. Everyone had to play drow. So female Avenger/Cleric with a greatsword in cloth armor. Most memorable encounter/moment:

Rogue (thief) makes a play to implicate me responsible for shooting a guard (standing in our way) with a crossbow. Fails the check (rolled low) and I have a crossbow in my hands while wielding the greatsword. Everyone (but a PC [wizard:mage] who got even lower on his perception) turns around to him and was like "wtf, man?". Other rogue (thief) immediately stabbed him in the back for that. Then we fought the guards (for another reason) in a corridor that was a never ending series of Cloud of Darkness. Ranger (hunter) was like "wtf, guys!" as he stood in the back trying to hit anything.

Next time, I'll tell you guys about my wizard (mage) who acted more like a striker/defender than a controller.  

[Paidi tou Selini]

Looks good. Feel free to add that in and I'll pull out the calculator for you two.

Love the background. Works perfect for a boarder or uncharted island.

EDIT: *You three.  

[Liquidor]

Paidi tou Selini

blah. was working on a backstory when i realized something.

how do you feel about retraining?

Every time a character gains a level, he or she can retrain. This involves changing one feat, power, or trained skill. Only one change is allowed per level. If the player book says to replace one of the character’s powers with a different power of a higher level, replacing the power doesn’t count as retraining. The character can still retrain a feat, some other power, or a trained skill.

Its from the Rules Compendium.  

[Gender Ender]

Alright, background finished, mount added to notes, sheet finalized for critique and math checks.

Vervain!

Vervain, minuscule mistress of the mind!
Vervain, smallish seeker of secrets!
Vervain, half-pint harbinger of horrors unknown!

 

[KytanaTheThief]

Liquidor

Paidi tou Selini

blah. was working on a backstory when i realized something.

how do you feel about retraining?

Every time a character gains a level, he or she can retrain. This involves changing one feat, power, or trained skill. Only one change is allowed per level. If the player book says to replace one of the character’s powers with a different power of a higher level, replacing the power doesn’t count as retraining. The character can still retrain a feat, some other power, or a trained skill.

Its from the Rules Compendium.

You do realize retraining is in the PHB as well, right?