Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 the_storyteller Aug 22, 2010 19:23:09	Assault Swordmage stuff (powers, feats, 1 PP) It appears that the assault swordmage build has been forgotten for good. Now that WotC is busy with essentials and looks like there is no arcane power 2 on the horizon (and adding to the fact that dragon magazine never helped assault swordmages that much) I homebrewed some at-will powers (3), feats (4), and a decent PP in par with the best PPs of the other defenders (i.e. Pit Fighter, Champion of Order, Hospitaler), maintaining the build characteristics, along with real incentives to boost strength instead constitution (which incredibly occurs with some assault swordmages). I believe that nothing that I show here is overpowered, besides in the current stage of 4e any character needs “overpowered” options to be on level with both allies and monsters, as expected 2 years after the PHB and subsequent tons of books full of new (and better) options. At-will powers Force Strike At-Will      arcane, force, weapon Standard action      melee         Target: one creature           Attack: Int vs AC Hit: 1[W] + Intelligence modifier force damage. At level 21 2[W] + Intelligence modifier force damage. Special: This power can be used as a melee basic attack. [Comment: now that they nerfed the melee training feat and other classes gained powers like this one (i.e. Paladin’s Virtuous Strike) I think that the swordmage deserves it as well] Suppressing Strike At-Will      arcane, weapon Standard action     melee           Target: one creature          Attack: Int vs AC Hit: 1[W] + Intelligence modifier damage and the target take a penalty to damage rolls equal to your Strength modifier. At level 21 2[W] + Intelligence modifier damage. [Comment: Assault swordmages needed a primary at-will. You want reasons? Greenflame blade is not that good, and the shielding swordmages already have TWO really good DEFENDER at-wills: Booming blade and Frigid blade. I know that it is not overpowered because the battlemind and the runepriest have almost identical powers]. Veiling Attack At-Will      arcane, weapon Standard action    melee         Target: one creature           Attack: Int vs AC           Hit: 1[W] + Intelligence modifier damage and one ally within 5 squares of you become invisible to the target. At level 21 2[W] + Intelligence modifier damage. [Comment: Eyebite’s defender version. I still can’t believe how any single defender class didn’t have an at-will like this] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PARAGON PATH Vengeful Swordmage Prerequisite: swordmage, aegis of assault feature You don’t want to see your allies been hurt. If a bad guy does that, you kill him. Simple, huh? 11th level – Deadly Assault Action: You can use an action point to turn a successful hit of your aegis of assault attack into a critical hit. [Comment: I like the idea of giving more utilities for the APs instead of just giving a bonus like +3 to hit or +damage to an extra attack] 11th level – Interrupting assault: Your aegis of assault power is now an immediate interruption instead of an immediate reaction. If the attack hits the target, the target’s attack that triggered the aegis takes -2 penalty to the attack roll. [Comment: The “interrupt” part is how it should be from the beginning (like ALL the other defenders and respective builds. The -2 to attack roll is the real bonus given by the PP] 16th level – Even more threatening: You deal extra damage with your melee basic attack, swordmage and swordmage paragon paths weapon attack powers equal to your Strength modifier (minimum +1) against aegis marked enemies. [Comment: Just like the Pit fighter feature, but only against the aegis marked enemies. The shielding swordmages gain more healing surges and PPs like coronal guard that make them extremely hard to take down, this is a common trait of constitution based class builds. The assault swordmages need some of the same trait of the other strength based class builds: hit hard] Vengeful Assault Encounter  arcane, weapon Standard action     melee          Target: one creature            Attack: Int vs AC Hit: 3[W] + Intelligence modifier. If you score a critical hit with this attack the enemy is dazed until the end of its next round. Special: This power can be used in the place of the melee basic attack triggered by your aegis of assault. [Comment: this is why people call you "vengeful"] Vengeful Stance Daily        Arcane, stance           Minor action Effect: Until the end of the encounter or until you end this stance as a free action, your aegis of assault attack deals extra 1[W] damage. [Comment: this is why people call you "vengeful"] Anger and Vengeance Daily           Arcane Free action              Trigger: marked enemy hits one ally within 10 squares. Effect: You deal an extra 2d10 damage with weapon attacks against marked enemies that have already hit any of your allies in this encounter until the end of the encounter. [Comment: this is why people call you "vengeful"] [General PP Comment: When the avenger was first announced I thought it would be like this PP hurting really bad the enemies that have done the same to your allies (sadly it wasn’t, it turns to be the guy that just rolls 2d20), but with time I perceived that this could be a defender’s trait, and the fact that the assault swordmages bend time and space only to hit the enemy, even if it is far away, fits really well with the concept] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HEROIC FEATS Arcane Sentinel Prerequisite: swordmage Benefit: You gain +3 feat bonus to Perception. In addition, you can use your intelligence modifier instead your wisdom modifier to determine your perception checks. [Comment: I’m one of that guys that can’t bear the fact that the swordmage is the only defender class with horrible perception (the fact that warlords doesn’t have perception as skill makes me mad as well, they also needed a feat like this one). Any guy that says that “I will go up in front to protect my friends” must be aware of what is awaiting to kill them. I’m just letting him use his smarts and magic to perceive things. Sorcerers gain a feat that let them use Arcana as perception; Swordmages need it more] Certain assault Prerequisite: swordmage Benefit: You gain +1 bonus to the attack roll of your aegis of assault attack, +2 bonus at 11th level and +3 at 21th level. [Comment: The Anarch of Shyr PP gives a bonus like this in the 11th level, but I think it deserved a feat version as well, also our shielding brothers gain that amazing Greater aegis of shielding feat and we… nothing] Heavy Blade Thrower Prerequisite: swordmage, swordbond class feature Benefit: You can treat Heavy blades as heavy throw weapons with range 3 and can use swordmage melee attack powers as if they were Melee 3 powers. You can now teleport your swordbond weapon to your hand as a free action. [Comment: Just putting the swordbond feature to good use (creatively speaking), letting the swordmage be more Jedi like] Punishing Aegis Prerequisite: swordmage Benefit: You deal your Strength modifier as extra damage bonus with your aegis of assault attack. [Comment: It’s a good reason to boost strength even if our MBA is intelligence based.Think something like the Paladin’s Mighty Challenge feat (DP). Also, our shielding brothers gain that amazing Greater aegis of shielding feat and we… nothing]
#2 tiamatdragonwing Aug 23, 2010 13:45:07	Nice stuff, would make the assault build a tempting choice for me compared to the shielding build which I personally love, and all seems balanced with nothing that screams overpowered when used in combo. One change I'd personally suggest is change arcane sentinal to training or a feat bonus to perception instead of an extra skill to your list because as it stands the first part of the feat (class list addition) has limits due to either the need to retrain to make use of it or a manditory 1st level feat for anyone wanting top perception that backgrounds already can cover without limiting initial feat choice. Anyway if you feel up to it and want the extra support suggest trying to make an article out of the stuff as it is good.
#3 the_storyteller Aug 23, 2010 17:11:35	Thanks for the advice tiamatdragonwing ! I will edit the arcane sentinel feat to give +3 feats bonus to perception (like the skill focus feat but with the intelligence modifier benefit). I'm thinking about sending this to WotC, but I will have to add some fluff, the introductory fluff and the powers fluff, which is the hardest part.
#4 terk1011 Aug 25, 2010 14:11:43	Good stuff in here; I'm going to allow the At-Wills in my game. I'm particularly fond of veiling attack. It's what an Arcane defender *should* be doing. No other powers source (well, maybe shadow when it comes) could pull that off flavor-wise. I understand where you're coming from in making a really power paragon path, though I do think you went a little too good. Every feature and power is exceptional. Normally there are at least a few that are somewhat less compelling. And remember that a lot of the paragon paths you've cited for comparison have been errated. Deadly Assault Action I don't much care for, as I see a player using this all the time to exclusion of ever taking an extra action. It strikes me as rather bland. It's also very powerful, *especially* when combined with Interrupting Assault. Auto-crit as an interrupt to an attack? Yikes. Without much effort in item and weapon choice, that could easily kill unbloodied enemies before their attack lands. Maybe you could go for something that lets the Swordmage reroll on a miss with his Aegis of Assault attack by expending an action point. That way, it has synergy with Interrupting Assault without overpowering interrupting assault. (You could drop a heavily wounded enemy with some certainty, or at least impose the -2 when you think it'll really matter.) More importantly, this option doesn't totally overshadow using the action point to take an extra action.