The Heroic Tier
From the PH: In the heroic tier, your character is already a hero, set apart from the common people by your natural talents, learned skills, and some hint of a greater destiny that lies before you. Your capabilities are largely determined by your choice of character class and to a lesser extent by your race. You move around on foot or on a relatively mundane mount such as a horse. In combat, you might make mighty leaps or incredible climbs, but you’re still basically earthbound. The fate of a village might hang on the success or failure of your adventures, to say nothing of the risk to your own life.
From the DMG: Even 1st-level characters are heroes, set apart from the common people by natural characteristics, learned skills, and some hint of a greater destiny that lies before them.
At the start of their careers, characters rely on their own abilities and powers, and they wield mundane gear. They acquire magic items quickly, though, and might even fill their available item slots by 10th level. In combat, they can make mighty leaps or climb incredibly fast, but they’re still basically earthbound and generally remain visible. Since they rely on healing surges to regain lost hit points, heroic tier characters are likely to take an extended rest when surges get dangerously low. However, toward the upper end of the tier, even death is a surmountable obstacle because of the Raise Dead ritual.
Adventures: The fate of a village might hang on the success or failure of heroic tier adventurers, to say nothing of the characters’ own lives. Heroic characters navigate dangerous terrain and explore haunted crypts, where they can expect to fight savage orcs, ferocious wolves, giant spiders, evil cultists, bloodthirsty ghouls, and shadarkai assassins. If they face a dragon, it’s a young one that might still be searching for a lair and has not yet found its place in the world—in other words, much like themselves.
The Paragon Tier
From the PH: In the paragon tier, your character is a shining example of heroism, set well apart from the masses. Your class still largely determines your capabilities. In addition, you gain extra abilities in your specialty: your paragon path. When you reach 11th level, you choose a path of specialization, a course that defines who you are within a certain narrow range of criteria. You are able to travel more quickly from place to place, perhaps on a hippogriff mount or using a spell to grant your party flight. In combat, you might fly or even teleport short distances. Death becomes a surmountable obstacle, and the fate of a nation or even the world might hang in the balance as you undertake momentous quests.
From the DMG: By 11th level, characters are shining examples of courage and determination—true paragons in the world, set well apart from the masses.
Paragon tier adventurers are a lot more versatile than they were at lower levels, and they can find just the right tool for a given challenge. They can spend action points to gain additional effects, are able to use magic rings, and can sometimes regain limited powers they’ve expended. In combat, they exploit short-range flight and teleportation, making difficult terrain less important, and might be able to turn invisible or resist specific damage types. They also have ways to regain hit points beyond healing surges, including regeneration, so they can complete more encounters between extended rests. On the other hand, monsters at the paragon tier have more ways to thwart these new capabilities, including their own flight, damage resistance, and blindsight.
Rituals at the paragon tier begin to give characters magical ways to gather information and overcome obstacles. Divination rituals such as Consult Oracle grant access to knowledge they might otherwise not have, while View Object can make some kinds of mysteries obsolete. Exploration rituals such as Passwall and Shadow Walk let a party bypass solid barriers and quickly travel long distances.
Adventures: The fate of a nation or even the world might depend on momentous quests that such characters undertake. Paragon-level adventurers explore uncharted regions and delve long-forgotten dungeons, where they confront savage giants, ferocious hydras, fearless golems, evil yuan-ti, bloodthirsty vampires, crafty mind flayers, and drow assassins. They might face a powerful adult dragon that has established a lair and a role in the world.
The Epic Tier
From the PH: In the epic tier, your character’s capabilities are truly superheroic. Your class still determines most of your abilities, but your most dramatic powers come from your choice of epic destiny, which you select at 21st level. You travel across nations in the blink of an eye, and your whole party might take to the air in combat. The success or failure of your adventures has far-reaching consequences, possibly determining the fate of millions in this world and even planes beyond.
From the DMG: By 21st level, characters have truly superheroic capabilities, and their deeds and adventures are the stuff of legend. Ordinary people can hardly dream of such heights of power. Epic adventurers have even more ways to recover expended powers, more ways to heal damage without relying on healing surges, and more powers overall from magic items and epic destinies. In combat, flight and teleportation are routine, as well as extraordinary feats of climbing and jumping. Terrain in general is less important, unless it blocks extraordinary forms of travel. Invisibility is common. Such characters can last through many encounters before resting and can even return from death in the middle of a fight. Furthermore, epic destinies break the rules in dramatic ways.
At the epic tier, rituals include more and better kinds of divination, including the ability to spy on distant beings with Observe Creature. Epic characters can use True Portal to transport themselves instantly anywhere in the world.
Adventures: Epic adventures have far-reaching consequences, possibly determining the fate of millions—in the natural world and even places beyond. Epic characters traverse otherworldly realms and explore never-before-seen caverns of wonder, where they fight savage balor demons, abominations such as the ferocious tarrasque, mind flayer masterminds, terrible archdevils, bloodthirsty lich archmages, and even the gods themselves. The dragons they encounter are ancient wyrms of truly earth-shaking power, whose sleep troubles kingdoms and whose waking threatens existence.
Starting at Higher Level
Sometimes you don’t want to start characters at 1st level. A paragon- or epic-tier game might be more to your taste. Maybe your DM wants to run a published adventure that requires higher-level characters, or you want to try a one-shot that pits 30th-level characters against Orcus. Whatever the reason, at some point you’ll need to create higher-level characters. This process isn’t much harder than making a 1st-level character. The steps for creating a D&D character above 1st level are almost the same as those ones outlined in Chapter 2 of the Player’s Handbook for a new character.
1. Choose Race. Remember that some racial traits improve at higher levels.
2. Choose Class. If your level is 11th or higher, choose a paragon path appropriate to your class. At 21st level or higher, you’ll also need to choose an epic destiny.
3. Determine Ability Scores. Generate scores as for a 1st-level character, applying racial modifiers. Then increase those scores as shown on the Character Advancement table in the Player’s Handbook, with increases at 4th level, 8th level, 11th, 14th, and so on. (You can also use the NPC Ability Scores table on page 187 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide.)
4. Choose Skills. Make sure you meet skill prerequisites for a paragon path or epic destiny, if applicable.
5. Select Feats. You generally don’t have to worry about the level at which you gained a particular feat, since retraining allows you to have the feats you want at any given level. Do watch out for paragon and epic feats, though. For example, a 14th-level character can’t have more than seven paragon feats (those gained at 11th, 12th, and 14th level, as well as up to four retrained feats).
6. Choose Powers. You know two at-will powers from your class; remember to increase damage if your level is 21st or higher. The Powers by Class Level table summarizes the number and levels of powers you have in the other categories. These totals are not cumulative. The table assumes that you replace your lowest-level powers with those at higher levels, but you can keep lower-level ones if you wish.
Powers by Class Level
Class Level Encounter Powers Daily Powers Utility Powers
1st 1 1 —
2nd 1 1 2
3rd 3, 1 1 2
4th 3, 1 1 2
5th 3, 1 5, 1 2
6th 3, 1 5, 1 6, 2
7th 7, 3, 1 5, 1 6, 2
8th 7, 3, 1 5, 1 6, 2
9th 7, 3, 1 9, 5, 1 6, 2
10th 7, 3, 1 9, 5, 1 10, 6, 2
11th P, 7, 3, 1 9, 5, 1 10, 6, 2
12th P, 7, 3, 1 9, 5, 1 P, 10, 6, 2
13th P, 13, 7, 3 9, 5, 1 P, 10, 6, 2
14th P, 13, 7, 3 9, 5, 1 P, 10, 6, 2
15th P, 13, 7, 3 15, 9, 5 P, 10, 6, 2
16th P, 13, 7, 3 15, 9, 5 P, 16, 10, 6, 2
17th P, 17, 13, 7 15, 9, 5 P, 16, 10, 6, 2
18th P, 17, 13, 7 15, 9, 5 P, 16, 10, 6, 2
19th P, 17, 13, 7 19, 15, 9 P, 16, 10, 6, 2
20th P, 17, 13, 7 P, 19, 15, 9 P, 16, 10, 6, 2
21st P, 17, 13, 7 P, 19, 15, 9 P, 16, 10, 6, 2
22nd P, 17, 13, 7 P, 19, 15, 9 P, 22, 16, 10, 6, 2
23rd P, 23, 17, 13 P, 19, 15, 9 P, 22, 16, 10, 6, 2
24th P, 23, 17, 13 P, 19, 15, 9 P, 22, 16, 10, 6, 2
25th P, 23, 17, 13 P, 25, 19, 15 P, 22, 16, 10, 6, 2
26th P, 23, 17, 13 P, 25, 19, 15 E, P, 22, 16, 10, 6, 2
27th P, 27, 23, 17 P, 25, 19, 15 E, P, 22, 16, 10, 6, 2
28th P, 27, 23, 17 P, 25, 19, 15 E, P, 22, 16, 10, 6, 2
29th P, 27, 23, 17 P, 29, 25, 19 E, P, 22, 16, 10, 6, 2
30th P, 27, 23, 17 P, 29, 25, 19 E, P, 22, 16, 10, 6, 2
P: Power from your paragon path.
E: Power from your epic destiny.
7. Choose Equipment and Magic Items. Mundane equipment is much less important for higher level characters than it is when you’re starting out. Choose whatever standard adventuring gear you want from the tables in the Player’s Handbook. For magic items, choose one item of your level +1, one item of your level, and one item of your level –1. In addition, you have gold pieces equal to the value of one magic item of your level –1. You can spend this money on rituals, potions, or other magic items, or save it for later.
8. Fill in the Numbers. After noting the bonuses you gain from feats and magic items (as well as your increased level), calculate your hit points, Armor Class, defenses, initiative, base attack bonuses and damage bonuses, and skill modifiers. The Quick Hit Points table provides a formula for hit points by class.
Quick Hit Points
Class Hit Points
Cleric (level × 5) + 7 + Constitution score
Fighter (level × 6) + 9 + Constitution score
Paladin (level × 6) + 9 + Constitution score
Ranger (level × 5) + 7 + Constitution score
Rogue (level × 5) + 7 + Constitution score
Warlock (level × 5) + 7 + Constitution score
Warlord (level × 5) + 7 + Constitution score
Wizard (level × 4) + 6 + Constitution score
9. Roleplaying Character Details. Flesh out your character, using the suggestions in Chapter 2 of the Player’s Handbook or your own ideas.
Excerpts: Tiers of Play
Daily Art Preview: Gibbering Orb
Art by Pete Venters
Daily Art Preview: Cambion
Art by Anne Stokes
Excerpts: Devils of 4th Edition
Malevolent and corrupt, devils are the rebellious servants of the gods now living in the Nine Hells, one of the darkest dominions on the Astral Sea. Devils come in many varieties, from the sly imp to the mighty archdevils known as the Lords of the Nine, each a ruler of one of the Nine Hells. The greatest of these infernal lords is the god Asmodeus, prince of Nessus, the ninth hell. Long ago, Asmodeus was a powerful divine servant who chose to rebel against the god he served. At the head of an army of like-minded creatures, Asmodeus slew his divine master. For their betrayal, he and his followers were cursed with monstrous forms and imprisoned within the fuming ruin of the murdered god’s dominion.
Devils can leave the Nine Hells, but it is very difficult for them to do so. They can be sent forth by mighty archdevils through costly infernal magic, or travel through rare and well-hidden magical portals (usually only a few at a time when conditions are right). However, most devils outside of the Nine Hells have been brought to the natural world by evil mortals employing dark rituals.
Devils lust for the souls of mortals; each mortal spirit devils enslave undermines the gods’ sway over mortalkind and adds to the Nine Hells’ power. Devils torment and consume captured souls to fuel the mightiest of their infernal works, including evil constructs and terrible invocations. Devils compete fiercely to gather souls in order to earn favor and status within the infernal order, but they all work together toward the common goal of gathering souls for the Nine Hells.
Some devils seek to drive mortals into surrendering their souls through tyranny, despair, or terror; some seek to destroy the servants of good-aligned gods and tear down their works; and still others are tempters and deceivers who inflame mortal ambition, desire, greed, or pride.
Long ago, Asmodeus and his vassals forged dark pacts with various evil deities. Devils are therefore commonly found serving Bane, Gruumsh, Tiamat, Torog, and Vecna. Devils carefully honor their bargains—but they are extremely good at giving reckless mortals exactly what they ask for, and few of those who bargain with devils escape the final payment.
A Primer to the Nine Hells
The Nine Hells form a single dominion on the Astral Sea. Black smoke surrounds them, and beyond this choking veil broods a great, volcanic world whose surface is a blasted plain of ash and jagged stone. This is Avernus, the first of the Nine Hells, where embers rain down from a sunless sky and iron fortresses rise up between rivers of magma. Astral vessels approaching too closely find themselves plummeting through the skies of Avernus rather than sailing in the Astral Sea, landing in the Nine Hells with a great fiery impact. A helmsman of great skill can sometimes negotiate the passage and alight on the ashen plain safely, but the only sure way to avoid fiery disaster is to find the astral influence of the River Styx and follow it down through the basalt cliffs. The Styx cuts a jagged course across Avernus and eventually plunges down into the lower Hells—each one a tremendous continent-sized cavern within the roiling world.
Avernus, the first Hell, forms the surface of this terrible dominion. It’s a volcanic domain strewn with the blood and wreckage of a million battles. Fireballs plunge from the smoke-filled sky. The archdevil Bel, a military genius, protects and rules Avernus from a towering iron citadel.
A great iron gate in a mountainside of Avernus leads to Dis, the second Hell. Dis is an iron-walled city that lies within a vast cavern, sprawling unevenly amid the cavern’s jagged, mountainous floor. Dispater, the ruler of this Hell, is famous as the most cautious and calculating of the archdevils.
The cavern of Dis gradually descends and broadens into the great, low, brooding vault of Minauros, the Third Hell. A constant oily rain pelts down from the ceiling, and the black soil of Minauros is a vast series of mud flats, swamps, and mires, some heated into bubbling, stinking mud volcanoes by the heat rising from below. The serpentine and supremely boastful archdevil Mammon rules here.
Phlegethos, the fourth Hell, lies far below its predecessors. Dank steps cut into the stinking fumaroles of Minauros lead down several miles to a fiery cavern, where the air ripples with heat distortion and cascades of lava pour down from volcanic fissures in the ceiling miles overhead. The ambitious archdevil Fierna presides, with her grim father Belial as the true power behind the throne.
Stygia lies as deep as Phlegethos, but is many hundreds of miles away from its fiery neighbor—it underlies Dis, and dismal stairs of ice and iron link the two. The fifth Hell is cold and dark. Within Stygia’s cavern lies a vast frozen sea dotted with towering icebergs. Faint auroras of green-blue frostfire dance far above the sea, casting long shadows. Imprisoned within one of these mighty bergs is the archdevil Levistus, trapped forever by Asmodeus for some great betrayal.
Asmodeus’s daughter, the fiendishly beautiful Glasya, rules Malbolge, the sixth Hell. Long, icy canals lead hundreds of miles from frozen Stygia to this great cavern, illuminated by sinister yellow-green lamps suspended from the ceiling like tiny suns. Long ago Malbolge was a vast garden, the delight of the deity who ruled this sphere before Asmodeus, but now its superficial beauty cannot hide a feculent underbelly: autumnal trees with grasping roots, beautiful white towers with corpses impaled on their battlements, shimmering ponds with poisoned waters, and the like.
Maladomini, the seventh Hell, is a tremendous maze of winding tunnels, each miles across. These passages reach several of the lower Hells, including Malbolge, Cania, and Nessus. Within these vast tunnels lie crumbling cities, sludge-filled rivers, and vast tracts of land mined to absolute depletion. Black ichor erupts from the earth, and swarms of flies harry all. Here rules the archdevil Baalzebul, a sluglike monstrosity bereft of compassion.
The icy layer of Stygia seems like a paradise compared to Cania, the eighth Hell. This vast gulf deep within the world is another cold domain, where mile-high glaciers grind across a forbidding landscape so cold that few creatures can bear it. The wickedly handsome archdevil Mephistopheles rules Cania from a palace of ice lit with crackling hellfire.
The darkest of Cania’s rifts plunge hundreds of miles further down to Nessus, the ninth and deepest of the Hells. This is home to the god-tyrant Asmodeus, father of all devils. Nessus is a vast, vertical maze of chasms so large and so deep they are rooted in the seething fires at the core of the cursed sphere. Great infernal cities and fiendish armies lie hidden within these fiery depths.
Succubi tempt mortals into performing evil deeds, using their shapechanging abilities to appear as attractive men and women. Although seduction and betrayal are their forte, succubi are also practiced spies and assassins. Succubi serve more powerful devils as scouts, advisors, and even concubines. Because of their guile and shapechanging ability, they are frequently chosen to serve as infernal emissaries to important mortals.
Succubus Level 9 Controller
Medium immortal humanoid (devil, shapechanger) XP 400
Initiative +8 Senses Perception +8; darkvision
HP 90; Bloodied 45
AC 23; Fortitude 17, Reflex 21, Will 23
Resist 20 fire
Speed 6, fly 6
(m) Corrupting Touch (standard; at-will)
+14 vs. AC; 1d6 + 6 damage.
(m) Charming Kiss (standard; at-will) * Charm
+14 vs. AC; on a hit, the succubus makes a secondary attack against the same target.
Secondary Attack: +12 vs. Will; the target cannot attack the succubus, and if the target is adjacent to the succubus when the succubus is targeted by a melee or a ranged attack, the target interposes itself and becomes the target of the attack instead. The effects last until the succubus or one of its allies attacks the target or until the succubus dies.
If the target is still under the effect of this power at the end of the encounter, the succubus can sustain the effect indefinitely by kissing the target once per day. The succubus can affect only one target at a time with its charming kiss.
(r) Dominate (standard; at-will) * Charm
Ranged 5; +12 vs. Will; the target is dominated until the end of the succubus’s next turn.
Change Shape (minor; at-will) * Polymorph
The succubus can alter its physical form to take on the appearance of any Medium humanoid, including a unique individual (see Change Shape, page 280).
Alignment Evil Languages Common, Supernal
Skills Bluff +15, Diplomacy +15, Insight +13
Str 11 (+4) Dex 18 (+8) Wis 19 (+8)
Con 10 (+4) Int 15 (+6) Cha 22 (+10)
Succubus Tactics
When exposed for what it is, a succubus can be a deadly foe. It can manipulate the emotions of mortal adversaries, turning them against each other or making them slavishly loyal to it with a mere kiss.
A succubus that is confronted uses dominate on a worthy adversary. It then uses charming kiss on a dominated foe, keeping him or her nearby while it attacks other enemies with its corrupting touch.
Level 9 Encounter (XP 2,000)
1 succubus (level 9 controller)
2 snaketongue assassins (level 9 lurker)
2 crushgrip constrictors (level 9 soldier) 
Champions of the Nine Hells, war devils obey only pit fiends and archdevils. They also lead lesser devils in forays against those who stand in the way of their masters’ plans. War devils brought to the mortal world sometimes arise as warmasters or generals, leading the armies of evil mortal tyrants.
War Devil (Malebranche) Level 22 Brute (Leader)
Large immortal humanoid (devil) XP 4,150
Initiative +17 Senses Perception +15; darkvision
HP 255; Bloodied 127
AC 35; Fortitude 34, Reflex 32, Will 30
Resist 30 fire
Speed 8, fly 8 (clumsy)
(m) Claw (standard; at-will)
+26 vs. AC; 1d6 + 8 damage.
(m) Trident (standard; recharge 4 5 6 ) * Weapon
Reach 2; +26 vs. AC; 4d4 + 8 damage and ongoing 5 damage (save ends), and the target slides into any square adjacent to the war devil and is knocked prone.
(r) Besieged Foe (minor; at-will)
Ranged sight; automatic hit; the target is marked, and allies of the war devil gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls made against the target until the encounter ends or the war devil marks a new target.
(r) Devilish Transposition (move; at-will) * Teleportation
Ranged 20; the war devil and an allied devil within range swap positions.
(r) Fiendish Tactics (minor; recharge 5 6 )
Ranged 10; affects up to 2 allied devils of the war devil’s level or lower; each target can take a move action or make a basic attack.
Alignment Evil Languages Supernal
Skills Intimidate +20
Str 27 (+19) Dex 23 (+17) Wis 19 (+15)
Con 25 (+18) Int 15 (+13) Cha 18 (+15)
Equipment trident
War Devil Tactics
Despite their brutish appearance, war devils are outstanding tacticians and clever leaders. They use besieged foe and fiendish tactics to direct their subordinates against dangerous foes, but they eagerly leap into the fray when the time is right, using devilish transposition to exchange places with a lesser devil (often one with the mobility to penetrate the enemies’ ranks).
War Devil Lore
A character knows the following information with a successful Religion check.
DC 25: War devils (also known as malebranches) are among the most powerful devils that are routinely summoned by mortals.
Encounter Groups
War devils often serve as “muscle” for pit fiends or archdevils, or they directly command contingents of lesser devils.
Level 21 Encounter (XP 19,750)
1 war devil (level 22 brute)
1 ice devil (level 20 soldier)
2 bone devils (level 17 controller)
12 legion devil legionnaires (level 21 minion)
Dispel Magic
Dispel magic in 3rd Edition: 125 lines of text
Dispel magic in 4th Edition: 10 lines of text
Behold, the power of editing!
To begin with, the number of magical effects that might be dispellable had narrowed since 3rd Edition. Most arcane powers and divine powers -- called spells and prayers respectively -- create effects that are instantaneous or that last for 1 round, so the days of having numerous spells that last for many minutes or hours are over. Instantaneous and 1-round magical effects aren't intended to be dispellable, which left us considering the game's persistent magical effects. Most of the persistent spells and prayers in 4th Edition last no more than one encounter. Rituals can create magical effects that last for hours, days, or years, but it would take more than a spell or a prayer to dispel the effects of most rituals. Similarly, magic items -- which are created by rituals -- are designed so that their magic can't normally be suppressed by a spell or a prayer.
With these things in mind, we focused our attention on the spells and the prayers that create magical effects that last longer than 1 round. Some of those powers grant bonuses to or impose penalties on a target, but like 1-round effects, they aren't intended to be dispellable, and the game provides other ways of counteracting them.
So with all of these magical effects in the new edition that dispel magic wasn't intended to apply to, what purpose could it serve? To destroy magical effects created by powers and persisting in the environment, whatever their power source.
When the editors received the classes and powers chapter of the Player's Handbook, we found a number of familiar spells like Bigby's grasping hands, spells that conjure forth things made of magical energy. We also found persistent areas of effect, such as the cleric's blade barrier and the paladin's righteous inferno, which could be sustained for many rounds. Over the course of a few conversations with the development team -- okay, more than a few -- we settled on two keywords to describe these powers: conjurations and zones.
Conjurations create objects or creatures out of magical energy and are often movable. The wizard's Bigby spells and the cleric's spiritual weapon are examples of powers that have the conjuration keyword. Zones are areas of effect that persist for several rounds. For example, the cleric's consecrated ground and the wizard's stinking cloud have the zone keyword. Conjurations and zones allow their users to add new elements to an encounter or to reshape a battlefield in their favor.
With the definitions of conjurations and zones in place, the role of dispel magic became clear. Useful for dispelling persistent effects: check. Useful across power sources, as defined by keywords: check. It doesn't matter whether an effect is the creation of a wizard or a warlock spell or a cleric or a paladin prayer -- if it's a conjuration or a zone, it can be dispelled. Good news for PCs caught in an enemy warlock's tendrils of Thuban!
So here's the new dispel magic, in all its short-and-sweet glory:
by Michele Carter and Jeremy Crawford / art by Miguel Coimbra
The Warlord
Don't play the warlord if your only idea of a good time is personally wreaking havoc on your foes. I love the name of the warlord class. I supported using the name instead of the original "marshal" name we'd drafted from 3rd Edition. But some players' first impression on hearing the name "warlord" is that the class must be tougher than all the other characters, the nastiest battlefield hack-and-slasher in the game. The warlord can hold his own in melee and will frequently save the day thanks to outright combat mojo, but every warlord is more effective as a commander than as a lone hero.
For example, the warlord's 1st-level daily attack power, pin the foe, does as much damage as the best of the fighter's 1st-level daily attack powers, brute strike. Pin the foe's advantage is that it locks down the target's movement whether the attack hits or misses. This pin effect only functions if the warlord has allies with him to team against the enemy. So the power might be a big enough hit to slay the enemy outright. But against an extremely tough foe, or when pin the foe misses, the power creates a tactical advantage that depends on teamwork between multiple party members to keep the target from shifting freely around the battlefield.
At that stage, with an enemy who is pinned and fighting to the last breath, the warlord isn't as likely to be the party member who gets in the killing blow. Take a look at the fighter's brute strike power again. While the warlord's cool 1st-level daily exploit sets up a teamwork benefit, brute strike has the keyword "Reliable," meaning that the power isn't expended if the attack misses. Eventually, as long as the fighter is alive to swing, that brute strike is going to connect -- the warlord doesn't have that certainty. If you're the player who always wants to be finisher, the party's sword-wielding ass-kicker, play a rogue, ranger, or a fighter who uses two-handed weapons.
Pin the Foe Warlord Attack 1
No matter where your foe turns, one of your allies is waiting for him.
Daily
Martial, Weapon
Standard Action
Melee weapon
Target: One creature
Attack: Strength vs. AC
Hit: 3[W] + Strength modifier damage.
Effect: Until the end of the encounter, the target cannot shift if at least two of your allies (or you and one ally) are adjacent to it.
Brute Strike Fighter Attack 1
You shatter armor and bone with a ringing blow.
Daily
Martial, Reliable, Weapon
Standard Action
Melee weapon
Target: One creature
Attack: Strength vs. AC
Hit: 3[W] + Strength modifier damage.
Number Two: Play Well with Others
This is the shiny-happy side of the previous commandment. Fourth edition has fundamentally selfish classes that care only about their own combat tricks and successes. Fourth edition also has extremely unselfish classes, and that's where the warlord fits in. Different players at the table are likely to take a different approach to the combat encounter portion of the game. If you enjoy cooperative games like Reiner Knezia's Lord of the Rings boardgame or Shadows over Camelot, you're much more likely to enjoy playing a warlord. For example, your warlord can provide the entire party with an extra movement option with a power such as white raven onslaught.
During the early stages of design, we often used a sports metaphor, casting the warlord as the quarterback. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure quarterback is the right analogy -- after all, quarterbacks tend to land a huge percentage of the glory, MVP awards, and Hollywood girlfriends! Basketball point guard may be a more apt comparison. Not every combat depends on the warlord/point guard, but they distribute benefits the rest of the party thrives on. Without the warlord's assists, the party is often left only to its own devices, which might not be enough to triumph in a given encounter. You can operate without a warlord, but when you get to the playoffs against powerful competition, parties that don't have a warlord (or possibly some other to-be-designed tactical leader) have a rougher time of it. If you feel a glow of accomplishment when your assists combine with your attacks' damage to help the party succeed, the warlord is for you.
White Raven Onslaught Warlord Attack 1
You lead the way with a powerful attack, using your success to create an opportunity for one of your allies. Each of your comrades in turn seizes on your example and begins to display true teamwork.
Daily
Martial, Weapon
Standard Action
Melee weapon
Target: One creature
Attack: Strength vs. AC
Hit: 3[W] + Strength modifier damage, and you slide an adjacent ally 1 square. Until the end of the encounter, whenever you or an ally within 10 squares of you makes a successful attack, the attacker slides an adjacent ally 1 square.
Miss: Choose one ally within 10 squares. Until the end of the encounter, the ally slides an adjacent ally 1 square after making a successful attack.
Number Three: Order Up!
If you often find yourself suggesting a tactical course of action to your fellow players, the warlord might be for you. Back when we designed the original version of the marshal class for the Miniatures Handbook, the marshal owed a good deal to the vision and example of Skaff Elias. Skaff is famous for having excellent suggestions for what other players should be doing with their turns. The warlord class, as a descendant of the marshal, is partly an exercise in turning that sometimes annoying habit into a positive contribution that will be appreciated by other players, rather than resented.
Iron dragon charge is an example of how we're trying to make this type of guidance a welcome addition to another character's glory. Getting to charge as an immediate reaction when it's not your turn is a fantastic addition to any melee character's life, not an onerous order that forces your ally to spend their turn following your commands. Few players complain when the warlord in the party uses a well-timed exploit to give their PC a charge, another basic attack, or the chance to shift away from encroaching foes. Ditto for warlord powers that simultaneously allow the warlord to attack and inspire his allies to attempt a saving throw or recover hit points.
The warlord doesn't have unlimited license to boss other players around. Taken to extremes, that style of gameplay is still annoying. But if you're the type of player who loves studying tactical situations and trying to puzzle out the best way to get everyone through alive, the warlord provides roleplaying hooks and flexible powers to support your play style in a way that will endear you to your allies.
Iron Dragon Charge Warlord Attack 9
Like a rampaging iron dragon, you hurl yourself at your adversary, landing a terrific blow that inspires your allies to charge as well.
Daily
Martial, Weapon
Standard Action
Melee weapon
Target: One creature
Attack: Strength vs. AC
Special: You must charge as part of this attack.
Hit: 3[W] + Strength modifier damage.
Effect: Until the end of the encounter, as an immediate reaction, an ally of your choice within 5 squares of you can charge a target that you charge.
Halflings
Rivers and streams crisscross the world, and upon these waterways, the nomadic halflings quietly do the same. Legend says that Melora and Sehanine together crafted the halflings, instilling in these small folk a love of water and nature, as well as an innate wanderlust and stealth. The same stories say that both goddesses then left the halflings to their own devices.
Left to themselves, halflings lived for ages. They formed close families and communities, centered on their wisest elders. Clans of halflings wandered creation, never stopping for long, and rarely claiming any particular spot as their own. Their traditions formed and survived among a population constantly on the move and influenced little by the ways of other races. Unassuming, resourceful and independent, halflings hardly ever attracted much notice.
But Avandra, the goddess of boldness, luck and travel, took note of the halflings traversing the world. It seemed to her as if these little people, whom she didn’t create, were hers nonetheless by virtue of the fact that they were living manifestations of her best-loved ideals. Halflings say Avandra smiled on them that day, adopting them as her people and blessing them with good fortune through their worldly struggles. Anyone who knows halflings has little doubt that chance is indeed on their side.
Halflings, for their part, hold fables such as these as true, and their rich oral tradition of such tales is an important part of their culture. Young halflings learn the lore of their people, clan and family from hearing stories. From these, halfling children also pick up lessons on morality and knowledge of many subjects. Outside the political struggles, wars, and other concerns of nations and empires, but widely traveled, halflings have observed and preserved what they learned in their common yarns.
Favorite sagas retell the life and deeds of halflings bold enough to strike out on their own to see the world, right a wrong, or accomplish a great task. Most halflings are practical folk, concerning themselves with the simple things in life. Adventurous halflings are of the same stripe but practice such habits in a different way. A halfling leaves the security of family and clan not for high ideals, fame, or wealth. Instead, he goes to protect his community or friends, to prove his own capabilities, or to merely see more of the world than his nomadic lifestyle can offer.
A halfling hero might be the size of a preteen human child, but he has quick feet, deft hands and quick wit. He is forthright, bold and nigh fearless. His talents run toward sneakiness and craftiness. Pluck and fortune carry him to success where others would fail. He is an expression of all that halflings esteem, and so he is a valuable ally and a daunting foe.
All this went into creating halflings for the 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons game. The popular halfling of 3rd Edition is only slightly re-imagined so the race’s mechanical elements make the story elements true. Halflings are still Small, even though they are not 3rd Edition’s versions—in which halflings are the size of 3- or 4-year old humans. They still make great rogues, but they also make good rangers. A few new aspects, such as a tweak to Charisma and a slight influence over luck, in addition to making halfling warlocks viable, reinforce the halfling as a lucky, loveable protagonist. A halfling can also be a hard-to-kill enemy sharp of tongue and blade.
In other words, halflings are exactly what veteran D&D players expect from the 4th Edition refinement to something that worked well in 3rd Edition. Similar flavor, mechanical underpinning to the story, and as much, if not more, fun.
