In this episode of Critical Hit, A Major Spoilers Dungeons and Dragons Podcast: DOWN WITH THE KING!
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7 Comments
I lost it at “Buddy Guy Pal”, I mean “larlarlalalarlar pal”
My boss looked over at me as I was giggling at the “Buddy Guy Pal”.
Also, Adrianna’s dice are earsplitting! I don’t know if she started rolling near her mic or what, but I had to pull my earbuds out a couple of times. its probably just me though. I’ll try to pay more attention when it’s her turn and brace myself :)
Adriana’s dice… Sorry for the typo.
Awesome ep guys. Hilarious, and a really enjoyable combat.
How are these palace guard punks tough enough to go head to head with our guys, though?! Is this just a relic of the game engine or is there a narrative reason for this? Colour me confused!
A great question, with a complex answer.
Sure this is a party of cosmic badasses but that doesn’t mean they’re invincible. Just like a bunch of punk adventurers took down a god a bunch of punk guards have the potential to take out some high caliber adventurers. That said, if you look at this fight the kids barely broke a sweat.
I’m very sorry that I didn’t learn about this podcast until about a year ago. It warms my heart to hear a group really engage with and enjoy 4th Edition. Thank you.
That said, here’s a late-breaking counterpoint to “Prime Shot sucks!”: It only sucks if one doesn’t realize the intent of it.
If it’s thought of as something that the ranger or warlock should get frequently, then, yeah, it’s not great, because any group with a good front line will allow their ranged striker to stay back, rarely gaining the bonus.
But I submit that that’s not what Prime Shot is for,
The game recognizes that strikers are glass cannons, and it allows for the possibility that the monsters might recognize that too and decide that it’s worth punching past the party’s defenses to lay their damage on the striker, rather than the defender, because taking out the striker will spare them a lot of damage. This allowance can be seen in the class features of many, if not all, ranged strikers. Sorcerer traits are designed to push enemies back, or give the sorcerer some temporarily improved defenses; warlocks have shadow walk to boost their defenses and the PHB pact boons and at-wills are designed to help them escape and survive or discourage attacks; monks can, of course, move with almost complete impunity; and, Prime Shot aside, archery rangers have Defensive Mobility as a bonus feat.
So, if one wants to understand the purpose of a striker ability, they should think in terms of how it helps keep the striker out of melee or discourage melee engagement with them.
Prime Shot does that, and pretty much only does that. It’s most likely to be activated when things have gone seriously wrong, and someone has managed to get close to the warlock/ranger. This can and should be a temporary situation, but there might be a round or two where the warlock/ranger needs either a way out, or a way to make the enemy pay for getting close.
This is where a warlock is really going to need to hit with, if nothing else, one of its at wills. The ones in the PHB, make the warlock invisible, discourage the target from moving closer, or discourage the target or its enemies from attacking the warlock. If the warlock is able to hit hard enough, they might be able to trigger their boon, either to escape, gain extra staying power, or gain a bonus that will help them save, or get in another good hit.
The ranger at-wills don’t have the same sort of controller-ish effects as the warlock’s but it seems clear that the point of Prime Shot is to allow them to have a better chance of hitting an enemy brave enough to try to single the ranger out. That enemy is also almost certain to be the closest for the purpose of Hunter’s Quarry.
Different DMs play in different ways, so not all monsters will know in advance that any attempt to rush the warlock or ranger had better take them out, or pain is to follow. But, in any kind of extended encounter monsters, are going to learn that lesson.
Ultimately, I feel that Prime Shot was just poorly named. If it had been called something like Cornered Predator or Caged Demon, I think the intent would have been more clear.
Welcome Centauri! Glad you enjoy the show!