The power says I can use it to add 1 or 1d4+1 (augment1) to an attack, skill check, or saving throw. I had an ally who was dying next to me, he made a death saving throw and rolled an 18 so I used the power augmented to give him a check of 21 which let him spend a surge and wake up. I was told by my DM that this was not a valid use of the power, he cited the elven re-roll power, saying as soon as I knew what the roll was I could not use the power to help the roll. He let it go through since he did not want to spend time on it but seemed to think I was in the wrong for trying to help in that way. I believe that the power was meant to be used the way I used it. I was thinking it behaved similar to Memory of a Thousand Lifetimes but for helping another player.
If I try and use it the way the DM was thinking I can't see a time I could EVER use it to help with a saving throw, unless I said I was going to help before the roll is even made. From what I understand was being implied, Elven Accuracy can only be used after you make the roll but before you find out if it is a hit or not.
They were telling me I had this wrong just after insisting that Phye only has 2 power points and that the card having 3 is a typo, I then found in a posting that she gets 1 power point from her Adept Noble theme, which is also where this power comes from.
We could really use more info on these characters, I can't tell how some of these powers are supposed to work or why half the stats on the card are what they are.
Do I have the use of the power correct? Or is it supposed to be used the way the DM was trying to insist it be used. A good argument one way or the other would be helpful.
1) AI is a free action, while MoaTL is tagged as "no action." To me, the only difference here is that you can still use MoaTL even when stunned, and you can use it without counting as your 1 action when dazed. AI is out of the question for both counts. For that matter, in a strict ruling, I also won't allow Elven Accuracy (a free action) when dazed, since the 1 allowable action was already spent attacking.
2) AI has no trigger, while MoaTL does. However, AI does use "when" at the start of the sentence, and it could be taken as a shortening of the "if-then" pattern that you can see in the "trigger-effect" wording in MoaTL. So even without the actual word "trigger," you can see the condition in between "when" and the last comma as the trigger.
If I were to guess, this was done to keep the word count low because they want to maximize the space in the character card. This argument is weak, however, as on the very same page (Ardent Alacrity), they actually were able to cram the "trigger" wording in. But I must point out that while there is a weak argument for it to work in favor of how you wanted it to, I personally see no argument at all that supports the idea that it should work like Elven Accuracy instead.
As a final note, I agree with your DM's call to allow it as I'm a fan of the "say yes" policy (ie, in practice, I will actually allow Elven Accuracy even when dazed, if only because it makes everyone at the table happier). As long as the ally falls within the burst, it helps the party in general to help him/her get that healing surge. I don't anyone wanted the partymate to stay down. :-)
I'll have to ask him about it before we do the next session.
I really wish there was more info about these new things and the way they are supposed to be used.
August is a long way off still...
I played Phye in the Dark Sun encounter I was a part of, but I don't remember any issue when I popped the ability.
@Guest742363515: Like firesnakearies, it does seem a bit ridiculous to me, too, since as I explained above, I don't see anything in the wording that suggests that it should work the way your DM thinks it should.
However, he/she is your DM, and it will be best to maintain a healthy relationship with that person. My suggestion is to talk to your DM well before the next game starts. Let the DM hear your reasoning (how the rules wording suggest it should be the case, and how that interpretation actually benefits the game and the party as a whole), ask for his/her reasoning, and decide together on how the ability will work on your game. Since your DM has shown that your interpretation of the rules makes him/her uncomfortable, approach the matter in a non-antagonistic way. Most DMs respond favorablyto a friendly approach - I know I do. Offering the DM something he/she likes to nibble on helps (when my players show up with a donut I'm like, "You want something, don't you?" But I eat the donut anyway because I love some sweet, sugary goodness to go with my cup of coffee during a game)
Bottom line here, however, is that the DM is the game's referee. After your talk, you should consider his/her ruling as final. If your DM doesn't see it your way, just make sure that it works the way you think it's best when you're the one on the other side of the screen.
I haven't scoured my PHB3 at all, but is this bonus/ability available to the ardent? Or is it a Dark Sun addition?
Adept's Insight --- Free Action/Close Burst 1/ Encouter
Wehn you or an ally makes an attack roll, saving throw, or skill check, you may add 1 to the roll.
Augment 1: You instead add 1d4+1 to the roll.
As was said its a theme power from Dark Sun so there is no real info besides this little amount on the card. I plan to take the approach of, could I use it to help my, or someone elses, heal check to stabalize or second wind someone after the roll is made? I know what the DCs are after all. If the party has figured out what a targets' AC is could I use the power before the DM announces a hit or miss?
I think the problem he had was that with a saving through you know if you succeed based on what is rolled since there are no modifiers normally. He had probably already seen the roll decided that the player was safe this time and annoyed that I said he could spend a surge. For my part I had been waiting to see if the player failed or came close to 20 and had planned on using the power to assist before that player even got their turn. I had started moving and saying that I was going to assist the roll and he was in the middle of trying to go on to the next players' turn. The game was taking a bit longer then normal since we had to get the background info of the setting and the characters were all new with new powers. The DM and the other person that agreed with him had probably read both the module and all the characters and already decided how these worked.
The fact that there were 1 or 2 errors in the character cards led them to assume that anything unusual was an error and dismissed it. I'm going to try and get to the Thursday night D&D early so I can try and discuss it with him. I'm hoping I'll actually be able to, and not have him dismiss my thoughts before I can even say them, which is what has happened a couple of times before.