This episode: This week, Game Master Rodrigo schools Stephen and Matthew on the ways of the Paragon Path.
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28 Comments
I thought it was funny when Matthew tried to joke about Torq going swordmage. Rodrigo just ignored it, but almost as often Rodrigo’s answer is “Yes, and…” just like in improv. No idea in D&D is absurd.
I thought maybe he was trying to step on Stephen’s toes and get a rise out of him, but I think a Torq swordmage would be a very different character from an Orem swordmage, so I don’t see any kind of copying going on there.
Torq doesn’t qualify to multiclass into swordmage
Go on Rhodhreago bend the rule!
Matthew seemed to skip over the Pitfighter path. Seems like a good idea as Torq already is a pit fighting champion (as of last episode).
Matthew seemed to skip over the Pitfighter path.
Doesn’t really appeal to me in terms of this character…
In the Dark Sun campaign book there’s a gladiator champion paragon class (which Torq qualifies for as a Fighter). It has a rather different feel to it and may fit Torq better than the Pit Fighter class. Besides, he’s already got a championship belt he might want a paragon class to go with it ;)
I love paragon paths. Matthew is like an old man, fearful of change, and it cracks me up.* A paragon path is simply picking a specialty for your character. There are several paragon paths that amount to “I like to hit things over the head” that would be perfect for Torq and will just make him even better at what he already does. It doesn’t need to be more complex than that.
* Matthew’s 1 year older than me — I started playing D&D when THAC0 was the to-hit mechanic and have played every edition before and after and if it were legal I’d marry 4th Edition.
I love paragon paths. Matthew is like an old man, fearful of change, and it cracks me up.
Change is bad, okay? :)
I don’t fear paragon paths. I fear the increasing systemization of Dungeons and Dragons in mechanical terms to work closer to Magic: The Gathering. There’s a lot of different options to build powersets, but very limited options to personalize them, and the primary ideal seems to be in optimizing and min-maxing. Having never worked with a Paragon path before, I am open to it, but I just don’t know that I trust it. It seems to be a “narrowing” effect, wherein as you get more experienced and powerful, your choices as a character are LESSENED, whereas to my mind, the opposite should be true.
Mileage, as always blah blah blah fishcakes.
I don’t see paragon paths as a narrowing aspect. True, your character would become specialized in a certain way, but you lose absolutely NOTHING from gaining a path. Even if a person were to (for some strange and awful reason) choose a path that was the opposite of how they played their character, they would still be able to play their character as they had been for the previous 10 levels just fine. They just wouldn’t be utilizing the bonuses from their path.
So, narrowing, not so much. Optimizing? Probably. Min-maxing? Not in the least. It’s all about taking advantage of your character’s strengths and play style and optimizing them for greater effect.
Anyway, that’s my rant. Sorry about that. On a side note, if someone were to make a funnel cake in the shape of a duckie, would Torq eat it or gallop it around the table making quaking sounds?
On a side note, if someone were to make a funnel cake in the shape of a duckie, would Torq eat it or gallop it around the table making quaking sounds?
Almost certainly both…
I have to admit a certain disappointment that Stephen didn’t even CONSIDER the Wizard: Pimp Path:
http://www.majorspoilers.com/major-spoilers-adventures-46-paragon-path
The Dread Reaper paragon path from Martial Power is a great fit for Torq. It would definitely allow him to specialize in mowing down hordes of bad guys with his 2-handed axe. Whenever he spends an action point to make an attack he basically gets to Cleave everyone around him. Pretty cool.
I came to specifically suggest this one.
It screams Torq!
you sir are correct
I was just reading up on the comments over a year later and I came to the same conclusion as you sir. I hope he picks it! I’m just getting into C.H. so I’m held in suspense until I get to those episodes.
As one of the folks suggesting that a Cleric Torq might not be a bad idea, (although dying has seemed like less of an issue of late. You all are either getting better or Rodrigo is getting soft) would Multi-classing into Warlord be more RP appropriate? If you see Warlords as tactical commanders, it would make sense for Torq’s MO of ‘combat savant’. More healing is rarely a wasted feat.
I don’t see Torq commanding a battlefield. The combat scant would apply to being attuned to his weapon. I could definitely see Ket continuing down the Warlord path. He sees the battle as a chess board IMO.
Awesome episode, can’t wait to see what paths the chracters take.
As a sidenote, for Matthew Critical Hit has its own Tvtropes page now.
I could be wrong, but I get the impression that Matthew would like for Torq to be as easy to run as possible. I think multiclassing into a whole ‘nother class is more complicated than what he’s looking for. Making Torq better at what he already does seems like the most streamlined approach.
I do get a similar impression, but I don’t think multiclassing is all that complicated. Once you have your powers together, it’s just a matter of picking which one to use each round. Most builds, IMHO, are roughly equally complicated in actual play. I sort of resent this in 4th edition, because there isn’t any I-hit-him-with-my-axe-every-round class. In earlier editions, that was the fighter, but that isn’t the case anymore. I liked how you used to be able to choose a mechanically simpler class, in order to have surplus brain power to spend on other aspects of the game, like role-playing.
What really matters is whether *Matthew* feels it’s too complicated or not. ;)
Also, the Slayer class from Heroes of The Fallen Lands is absolutely the “I-hit-him-with-my-axe-every-round class”. I would think that if this class had been available at the time Torq was created that he most likely would’ve been a Slayer.
I would be rather surprised if Brian did *not* choose the Self-Forged paragon path for Randis at this point.
Kensei is still a viable option for Torq, as it actually only focuses on a melee weapon, not a sword. He could even take proficiency with an Executioner’s Axe as part of his paragon path flavor.
And, on a side note, someone please bring up with Brian to remember his Arcane Rejuvenation class feature. Everyone has daily item powers and giving people temp hit points when they use them would be quite helpful.
Very nice episode guys, informative and fun as always :). I can’t wait to see how Rodrigo will write into the story each Paragon Path.
Keep up the good work and just wanna let you know you’ve a biiiiiig fan from Verona, Italy.
Any chance we can get a list of the monsters Rodrigo used in both seasons. Great work guys! You have a couple of fans up in Canada !
Continuer votre bon travail !
Polearm Mastery seems like an interesting possibility for Torq, assuming I’m understanding the reach rules correctly. The longer reach would give him more targets to choose from (though it looks like the second cleave target would still have to be adjacent). And there are a bunch of polearm feats and powers to let him move himself and opponents around, if he wants. (And the level 20 power is a burst 2…)
If Torq/Matthew is getting annoyed by the shiftiness of the monsters lately, and wants to get in more opportunity attacks, a polearm might be the way to go. For example, there’s an at-will (Weapon Master’s Strike) that lets you ‘super-mark’ when you hit with a polearm, so that you get an opportunity attack even if they shift. And the 16th level Polearm Mastery power gives you an interrupt attack whenever a mark shifts, too.
It could flow pretty naturally, in terms of tactical and roleplaying, from Torq practicing, trying to figure out how to hit those stinking flap-faces when they shifty-shift past him, and deciding that what he needs is an axe with a longer handle. Maybe Thony’s axe could be re-configured.
That’s my vote. I think a Torq with reach 2 would be bad-ass.
Maybe Thony’s axe could have a magical extension on it. So it could act as either or but takes a minor action to activate and a full round to extend or retract. Torq does have javelins he could still use.
I hope Torque picks Dread Reaper for his Paragon path! It’s pretty amazing being able to listen to all these episodes back to back haha. I started maybe 4 weeks ago from episode one and here I am already. Love the podcast guys keep up the good work! (I’m sure no one will even see this, but I wanted to post anyways)