BWC Typical party composition--Factionmaster observations. [Archive] - Wizards Community

BWC Typical party composition--Factionmaster observations. [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
kiddoc
08-15-06, 11:08 AM So, I ran uh... 10 blackwheel tables at Gencon and here are some observations about party composition that I noticed.

1) LOTS of Gnolls. Oh my god! Every table I played at had at least 1 gnoll, one had 4 gnolls and the average was a solid 2. Mostly fighters, lots of barbarians, and the occasional cleric.

2) More WF Scouts than I expected. I loved that people took a chance with these. The fastplay actually impressed me with splash weapon combat and the fun of Favored Enemy: Human. I saw a WF Scout Scout named scout who was a ton of fun, and one tag-along WF Scout artificer that kept the party's tank a mean killing machine. I was impressed with how well the artificer substitution level plays out in a WF Scout.

3) Where are all my Dragonmarks? I played with maybe 4 DM characters all weekend. They were great fun at roleplay and their "status" was significant in the parties they adventured in. I'd love to see more.

4) Warmage. Seriously underused. I saw a warmage absolutely own at the Delve, very underrated class. I loved the ones I played with, but I'd like to see more.

5) Marshal. Ha! Not a one. Folks are overlooking how sweet this class can be--though I expect to see more at higher levels. Grant move action and the subsitution "adrenaline boost" can be sick at later levels. Let's just say that a few modules called for more than one diplomacy check too--I cringed when the average CHA mod of most tables was -1 thanks to all the gnolls. It's bad when the WF Scout is the party's "face". :D

6) Roleplaying was outstanding. I was truly impressed by how few gnolls played "ridiculously" and how much their personalities varied. Other characters did a great job with the often difficult decision of where their loyalties lied, particularly when it came to deciding between the group, personal loyalties, and their duty to the mission.

Lots of fun overall, and hoping to hear lots of feedback.
mborn
08-15-06, 11:29 AM I played my BWC character in all 5 rounds of Xen'drik, including a marathon Well of Woe with a bunch of Covenant characters. I played a Gnoll Warmage, which is definately outside the box for that race, but I had a lot of fun being the smartest and most charismatic Gnoll at the table. At my Well of Woe table, the two fighters were a paladin and my Gnoll Warmage. It was no wonder our table took longer to complete the mission than any other. My character's hit points were up and down so much, I wore out my character sheet, erasing.

I saw lots of Gnoll fighters and barbs and one druid. I saw one Dalkyr scout and two dragonmarked characters, so there was a good deal of variety. Roleplaying was good and the modules, though heavy on combat encounters, were well written and a lot of fun. I do expect more variety in characters at higher levels. My character was designed for 1st level only, since I knew I would be playing 30 or so hours with him and I wanted to have fun while I did it. I don't know if he will be all that playable at higher levels since Gnolls get a penalty on the two prime requirements of a warmage.

I just hope they get the database problems worked out quickly. If the online tracking system does not work, it will kill this campaign, relegating it to the "I don't have anything else to play this slot," place, with everyone playing at the level bump.

Michael Born
aka Grolnik the Mad
Harliquinn
08-15-06, 01:06 PM I noticed similar patterns with other factions as well.

My Blackwheel Company character is a dragonmarked (House Orien) human bard with (what will be) a level of marshal. I don't see the Marshal as a strong 20-level build but definitely worth it for a dip or two.

I saw *tons* of Gnolls at the delve, where some were still using the 2d8 racial Hit Dice. I have a feeling when that's errata'd there might be less.

I think in all the factions, the 'new' races and classes got a lot of attention. You couldn't sit down at a CoS table without hitting 3 Duskblades.

Harliquinn
Herrbard
08-15-06, 02:06 PM So, I ran uh... 10 blackwheel tables at Gencon and here are some observations about party composition that I noticed.
Chiming in (like you thought I could keep quiet...)

1) LOTS of Gnolls. Oh my god! Every table I played at had at least 1 gnoll, one had 4 gnolls and the average was a solid 2. Mostly fighters, lots of barbarians, and the occasional cleric.
Yep. I only had 1 table that had 0 gnolls. One with 4, two with 3. 1 or 2 at all the others.

2) More WF Scouts than I expected.
I believe I only saw 1 warforged scout, but had three other scouts of various races.

3) Where are all my Dragonmarks? I played with maybe 4 DM characters all weekend.
Agreed. I saw two members of dragonmarked houses, neither of which had taken their dragonmark yet. (It was going to appear as they aged).

4) Warmage. Seriously underused.
I saw one at the last table Sunday morning. A Halfling warmage named Amethyst who absolutely owned the first two combats. It was also played by a girl who looked the part (she couldn't have been more than 10!).

5) Marshal. Ha! Not a one.
Same here.

6) Roleplaying was outstanding. I was truly impressed by how few gnolls played "ridiculously" and how much their personalities varied.
Again agreed. From the Gnoll brothers Ra, Ro, and Ru, to the Gnoll cleric (who carried the previously mentioned Halfling warmage into battle) to Crazy Hakim, the role-playing at my tables was outstanding. This was why I was always ready to go for the next slot, just to see what they would do this time.

Lots of fun overall, and hoping to hear lots of feedback.
Honestly, I prefer comments to feedback. That screeching noise when the amp overloads is really... oh, you mean verbal feedback! :)

Great job with the faction, Brian. To all of you reading this that have not decided what to play yet, get with the program! Sergeant Tragar wants you! :evillaugh

Dan Erbacher
Herrbard
08-15-06, 02:11 PM I just hope they get the database problems worked out quickly. If the online tracking system does not work, it will kill this campaign, relegating it to the "I don't have anything else to play this slot," place, with everyone playing at the level bump.
I'm wondering about this, myself. I ran a faction mod and a DMs mark for a game day last Tuesday (before leaving home for GenCon). All the players got their EV raised, and seem to have all the story objects they were supposed to get. I wonder if the database issues (especially with Origins two months ago) are because of the large number of tables being entered? I have no way of knowing, and if I remember correctly Ian's comment at the members meeting was "we're working on it". I hope they get it straightened out quickly; this is too good a campaign to have these issues!

Dan Erbacher
clem
08-15-06, 04:20 PM 5) Marshal. Ha! Not a one. Folks are overlooking how sweet this class can be--though I expect to see more at higher levels. Grant move action and the subsitution "adrenaline boost" can be sick at later levels.
I wonder if this is due to a shortage of people who own the Miniatures Handbook? I'd never considered buying it because, well, I don't play miniatures and didn't figure it would have any application to regular campaigns.
kiddoc
08-15-06, 11:23 PM I wonder if this is due to a shortage of people who own the Miniatures Handbook? I'd never considered buying it because, well, I don't play miniatures and didn't figure it would have any application to regular campaigns.

Mmmph! 'sa good point. Truth be told, the marshal is one of my favorite classes of all time. Like a bard, but good. :P

Grant move action is damned-near broken in a good combat group, and auras are just cool. Plust they make decent stand in fighters, fair archers, and I hear that a diplomacy monkey/ super-face is a Good Thing (TM) in some people's campaigns. ;)
TheOtherChris
08-16-06, 02:34 AM Mmmph! 'sa good point. Truth be told, the marshal is one of my favorite classes of all time. Like a bard, but good. :P

Grant move action is damned-near broken in a good combat group, and auras are just cool. Plust they make decent stand in fighters, fair archers, and I hear that a diplomacy monkey/ super-face is a Good Thing (TM) in some people's campaigns. ;)

Hmm
Of course when your diplomacy monkey decides it's just quicker to beat the elderly with a stick, he still fails no matter WHAT his "diplomacy" might be. :D
Aethan
08-16-06, 11:28 AM Mmmph! 'sa good point. Truth be told, the marshal is one of my favorite classes of all time. Like a bard, but good. :P

Grant move action is damned-near broken in a good combat group, and auras are just cool. Plust they make decent stand in fighters, fair archers, and I hear that a diplomacy monkey/ super-face is a Good Thing (TM) in some people's campaigns. ;)

I really dig the marshal myself, but I've been playing a stack of fighter-types lately. Still, if anything happens to my mage...

- Andy
Atlictoatl
08-16-06, 08:10 PM Warforged Scout - Ranger is the best fast play ever! I would have to say it was the best I've played in a long time!!! MAADs Rule!!!!!
kiddoc
08-16-06, 08:35 PM Warforged Scout - Ranger is the best fast play ever! I would have to say it was the best I've played in a long time!!! MAADs Rule!!!!!

HUSH!!!

Magic Assisted Airship Drops are a closely guarded BWC secret!!!

Oh crap....

:D
Terin
08-17-06, 12:47 PM You can find the Marshal class as it appears in the Miniature handbook on WoTC web page. Here! (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20030906b) Even has all the info on the auras and such.
Firewulf
08-18-06, 08:38 PM I ran into one marshall, a drow, who was paired up with a drow cleric in the second BWC faction adventure. I hadn't seen the marshall in action before (none of us own the mini handbook around here, or really cared to look for it elsewhere), but the initiative bonus aura made the enounters that we did fight in much much easier (+5 to init rolls is pretty significant :rolleyes: )

Both my friend and myself played gnolls, he brought a barbarian and I played a druid with the PH2 alternate ability, which just rocked with the racial str bonus. While we did run into a lot of other gnolls, we had a lot of fun roleplaying them as well. The barbarian had his 6 int and cha, and he loved roleplaying the "stupidity and coarseness, paired" as he said. It was great when we ran into the covenant of light people at the end of one of the adventures and no one in the group stopped him (who was in front) from trying to "diplomisize" with them...unfortunately the "You give it to us because the old guy said we could have it" line didn't work out too well, even though it was true. :rolleyes:

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
kiddoc 08-15-06, 11:08 AM	So, I ran uh... 10 blackwheel tables at Gencon and here are some observations about party composition that I noticed. 1) LOTS of Gnolls. Oh my god! Every table I played at had at least 1 gnoll, one had 4 gnolls and the average was a solid 2. Mostly fighters, lots of barbarians, and the occasional cleric. 2) More WF Scouts than I expected. I loved that people took a chance with these. The fastplay actually impressed me with splash weapon combat and the fun of Favored Enemy: Human. I saw a WF Scout Scout named scout who was a ton of fun, and one tag-along WF Scout artificer that kept the party's tank a mean killing machine. I was impressed with how well the artificer substitution level plays out in a WF Scout. 3) Where are all my Dragonmarks? I played with maybe 4 DM characters all weekend. They were great fun at roleplay and their "status" was significant in the parties they adventured in. I'd love to see more. 4) Warmage. Seriously underused. I saw a warmage absolutely own at the Delve, very underrated class. I loved the ones I played with, but I'd like to see more. 5) Marshal. Ha! Not a one. Folks are overlooking how sweet this class can be--though I expect to see more at higher levels. Grant move action and the subsitution "adrenaline boost" can be sick at later levels. Let's just say that a few modules called for more than one diplomacy check too--I cringed when the average CHA mod of most tables was -1 thanks to all the gnolls. It's bad when the WF Scout is the party's "face". :D 6) Roleplaying was outstanding. I was truly impressed by how few gnolls played "ridiculously" and how much their personalities varied. Other characters did a great job with the often difficult decision of where their loyalties lied, particularly when it came to deciding between the group, personal loyalties, and their duty to the mission. Lots of fun overall, and hoping to hear lots of feedback.
mborn 08-15-06, 11:29 AM	I played my BWC character in all 5 rounds of Xen'drik, including a marathon Well of Woe with a bunch of Covenant characters. I played a Gnoll Warmage, which is definately outside the box for that race, but I had a lot of fun being the smartest and most charismatic Gnoll at the table. At my Well of Woe table, the two fighters were a paladin and my Gnoll Warmage. It was no wonder our table took longer to complete the mission than any other. My character's hit points were up and down so much, I wore out my character sheet, erasing. I saw lots of Gnoll fighters and barbs and one druid. I saw one Dalkyr scout and two dragonmarked characters, so there was a good deal of variety. Roleplaying was good and the modules, though heavy on combat encounters, were well written and a lot of fun. I do expect more variety in characters at higher levels. My character was designed for 1st level only, since I knew I would be playing 30 or so hours with him and I wanted to have fun while I did it. I don't know if he will be all that playable at higher levels since Gnolls get a penalty on the two prime requirements of a warmage. I just hope they get the database problems worked out quickly. If the online tracking system does not work, it will kill this campaign, relegating it to the "I don't have anything else to play this slot," place, with everyone playing at the level bump. Michael Born aka Grolnik the Mad
Harliquinn 08-15-06, 01:06 PM	I noticed similar patterns with other factions as well. My Blackwheel Company character is a dragonmarked (House Orien) human bard with (what will be) a level of marshal. I don't see the Marshal as a strong 20-level build but definitely worth it for a dip or two. I saw tons of Gnolls at the delve, where some were still using the 2d8 racial Hit Dice. I have a feeling when that's errata'd there might be less. I think in all the factions, the 'new' races and classes got a lot of attention. You couldn't sit down at a CoS table without hitting 3 Duskblades. Harliquinn
Herrbard 08-15-06, 02:06 PM	So, I ran uh... 10 blackwheel tables at Gencon and here are some observations about party composition that I noticed. Chiming in (like you thought I could keep quiet...) 1) LOTS of Gnolls. Oh my god! Every table I played at had at least 1 gnoll, one had 4 gnolls and the average was a solid 2. Mostly fighters, lots of barbarians, and the occasional cleric. Yep. I only had 1 table that had 0 gnolls. One with 4, two with 3. 1 or 2 at all the others. 2) More WF Scouts than I expected. I believe I only saw 1 warforged scout, but had three other scouts of various races. 3) Where are all my Dragonmarks? I played with maybe 4 DM characters all weekend. Agreed. I saw two members of dragonmarked houses, neither of which had taken their dragonmark yet. (It was going to appear as they aged). 4) Warmage. Seriously underused. I saw one at the last table Sunday morning. A Halfling warmage named Amethyst who absolutely owned the first two combats. It was also played by a girl who looked the part (she couldn't have been more than 10!). 5) Marshal. Ha! Not a one. Same here. 6) Roleplaying was outstanding. I was truly impressed by how few gnolls played "ridiculously" and how much their personalities varied. Again agreed. From the Gnoll brothers Ra, Ro, and Ru, to the Gnoll cleric (who carried the previously mentioned Halfling warmage into battle) to Crazy Hakim, the role-playing at my tables was outstanding. This was why I was always ready to go for the next slot, just to see what they would do this time. Lots of fun overall, and hoping to hear lots of feedback. Honestly, I prefer comments to feedback. That screeching noise when the amp overloads is really... oh, you mean verbal feedback! :) Great job with the faction, Brian. To all of you reading this that have not decided what to play yet, get with the program! Sergeant Tragar wants you! :evillaugh Dan Erbacher
Herrbard 08-15-06, 02:11 PM	I just hope they get the database problems worked out quickly. If the online tracking system does not work, it will kill this campaign, relegating it to the "I don't have anything else to play this slot," place, with everyone playing at the level bump. I'm wondering about this, myself. I ran a faction mod and a DMs mark for a game day last Tuesday (before leaving home for GenCon). All the players got their EV raised, and seem to have all the story objects they were supposed to get. I wonder if the database issues (especially with Origins two months ago) are because of the large number of tables being entered? I have no way of knowing, and if I remember correctly Ian's comment at the members meeting was "we're working on it". I hope they get it straightened out quickly; this is too good a campaign to have these issues! Dan Erbacher
clem 08-15-06, 04:20 PM	5) Marshal. Ha! Not a one. Folks are overlooking how sweet this class can be--though I expect to see more at higher levels. Grant move action and the subsitution "adrenaline boost" can be sick at later levels. I wonder if this is due to a shortage of people who own the Miniatures Handbook? I'd never considered buying it because, well, I don't play miniatures and didn't figure it would have any application to regular campaigns.
kiddoc 08-15-06, 11:23 PM	I wonder if this is due to a shortage of people who own the Miniatures Handbook? I'd never considered buying it because, well, I don't play miniatures and didn't figure it would have any application to regular campaigns. Mmmph! 'sa good point. Truth be told, the marshal is one of my favorite classes of all time. Like a bard, but good. :P Grant move action is damned-near broken in a good combat group, and auras are just cool. Plust they make decent stand in fighters, fair archers, and I hear that a diplomacy monkey/ super-face is a Good Thing (TM) in some people's campaigns. ;)
TheOtherChris 08-16-06, 02:34 AM	Mmmph! 'sa good point. Truth be told, the marshal is one of my favorite classes of all time. Like a bard, but good. :P Grant move action is damned-near broken in a good combat group, and auras are just cool. Plust they make decent stand in fighters, fair archers, and I hear that a diplomacy monkey/ super-face is a Good Thing (TM) in some people's campaigns. ;) Hmm Of course when your diplomacy monkey decides it's just quicker to beat the elderly with a stick, he still fails no matter WHAT his "diplomacy" might be. :D
Aethan 08-16-06, 11:28 AM	Mmmph! 'sa good point. Truth be told, the marshal is one of my favorite classes of all time. Like a bard, but good. :P Grant move action is damned-near broken in a good combat group, and auras are just cool. Plust they make decent stand in fighters, fair archers, and I hear that a diplomacy monkey/ super-face is a Good Thing (TM) in some people's campaigns. ;) I really dig the marshal myself, but I've been playing a stack of fighter-types lately. Still, if anything happens to my mage... - Andy
Atlictoatl 08-16-06, 08:10 PM	Warforged Scout - Ranger is the best fast play ever! I would have to say it was the best I've played in a long time!!! MAADs Rule!!!!!
kiddoc 08-16-06, 08:35 PM	Warforged Scout - Ranger is the best fast play ever! I would have to say it was the best I've played in a long time!!! MAADs Rule!!!!! HUSH!!! Magic Assisted Airship Drops are a closely guarded BWC secret!!! Oh crap.... :D
Terin 08-17-06, 12:47 PM	You can find the Marshal class as it appears in the Miniature handbook on WoTC web page. Here! (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20030906b) Even has all the info on the auras and such.
Firewulf 08-18-06, 08:38 PM	I ran into one marshall, a drow, who was paired up with a drow cleric in the second BWC faction adventure. I hadn't seen the marshall in action before (none of us own the mini handbook around here, or really cared to look for it elsewhere), but the initiative bonus aura made the enounters that we did fight in much much easier (+5 to init rolls is pretty significant :rolleyes: ) Both my friend and myself played gnolls, he brought a barbarian and I played a druid with the PH2 alternate ability, which just rocked with the racial str bonus. While we did run into a lot of other gnolls, we had a lot of fun roleplaying them as well. The barbarian had his 6 int and cha, and he loved roleplaying the "stupidity and coarseness, paired" as he said. It was great when we ran into the covenant of light people at the end of one of the adventures and no one in the group stopped him (who was in front) from trying to "diplomisize" with them...unfortunately the "You give it to us because the old guy said we could have it" line didn't work out too well, even though it was true. :rolleyes: