Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 mikropone Sep 04, 2009 3:15:49	Hey all, just wanted to share this idea with everyone and get some feedback. I've posted this idea originally over at my blog but the basic idea is to set up a 'sideboard' for lack of a better term when using utility powers. Here's the House Rule: Sideboarding Skill Powers Print out all skill powers that the player character meets the pre-requisites for, this becomes their 'Sideboard': A skill power from the 'Sideboard' can be switched with a utility power slot of equal or lower level once per short rest. A pc can begin the day switching as many of their skill powers with a utility power slot of equal or lower level as they would like. A used skill power daily frees up the utility power slot and it becomes available to switch in another skill or utility power, even unused dailies. Does that make sense? I'm going to run this during my next campaign and see how it goes. I almost want to have skill teachers in my game that the players can train with to gain skill powers. Give it a sort of jrpg vibe. But it's too much work right now and I still have to test this idea out. If it goes over smooth I might just have skill powers as quest rewards. I realize this would unbalance the game by giving the player character's potential extra dailies but I think the fun factor in increasing the flexibility of the utility powers will be worth it. I'd appreciate any feedback and suggestions on re-writing the about house rule out in a clearer manner. Thanks!
#2 slobo777a Sep 04, 2009 4:01:12	It's a cool way to try out skill powers without waiting for players to select them by retraining etc. You are letting all characters borrow from the Wizard mojo. That spellbook will look a little less shiny when everyone can do the thing. The rogue, and other high skill count classes, will benefit the most, with more flexibility in their choices. I'd suggest using the rule temporarily to allow players to try the new game features out before deciding if they'd really want them.
#3 Neutronium_Dragon Sep 04, 2009 7:37:01	It's probably simpler to just grant the PCs an additional Utility power at each appropriate level, which must come from the Skill Powers list. That way they get a class utility (or two in the case of wizards) and a skill power one each time. It will be a power bump, but probably not a big enough one to cause problems.
#4 Damon_Tor Sep 04, 2009 11:51:02	Most of the skill powers are just "Use the skill, but ++" or they are just different applications of how (IMO) that skill should be able to be used in the first place. I'm not into the skill powers.
#5 mikropone Sep 04, 2009 20:07:16	@Slobo777a: How would other classes have access to the wizard's spellbook? I don't see it in the skill powers list? Also the flexibility is what I think would make it cool, a rogue would definitely benefit having more options but that would be the point. I'm going to try it out and see how it goes, if it's not working out then oh well... @Neutronium_dragon: But that would be a much greater power bump then switching powers during a short rest, the players would have twice as many utilities to burn but would not be able to try out the other skill powers. It would be more powerful then the sideboarding but a lot less flexible. @Damon_tor: I also agree that the player characters should have use of all the skill powers that they qualify for. The main problem I think is that if they had all the options in their hand that having so many powers to choose from each turn would slow down the game immensely. I like skill powers a lot, and I want to see them being utilized more often. Sideboarding powers I think is the way to go. This could encourage a similar sort of feel from the older editions when wizards had to prepare spells, a player may switch a utility ahead of time if they think it will help their character out in the next encounter.
#6 slobo777a Sep 05, 2009 2:42:44	@Slobo777a: How would other classes have access to the wizard's spellbook? I don't see it in the skill powers list? Also the flexibility is what I think would make it cool, a rogue would definitely benefit having more options but that would be the point. I'm going to try it out and see how it goes, if it's not working out then oh well... They wouldn't. The point is that "sideboarding" is the Wizard's schtick. By allowing all the other PCs to do it, you've made the Wizard class ability less of a gee-whiz (relative to other classes). It's not a major thing, but tween-class balance issues need to be considered carefully in 4E - at least, more carefully than in 3.5E.
#7 mikropone Sep 05, 2009 3:08:17	ah now I see what you mean. I honestly never thought about the sideboard being a problem though. If a player actually got upset about there wizard all of a sudden being less geewiz special I wouldn't know what to say haha! I guess I'd say, Hey, at least the wizard gets two sideboards now! see.... you're still special. Also the applications are different, the wizards spellbook is for spells, the other classes are all skill based so it should be all good I think. damn, I really gotta get a game started again, I really want to test this one out. On that note, I wonder why wizards didn't offer a pdf of the skill power cards themselves. That way it'd be easier to try out the skill powers in current games by printing out all the cards in a single pdf doc rather than having to write them down individually, or refer to the article throughout the game, or reprinting all your powers in the character builder.
#8 Neutronium_Dragon Sep 05, 2009 8:37:30	That's why I suggested simply giving them a skill power utility as a freebie along with their class one. Sideboarding intrudes on the wizard's gimmick too much, and it also makes skill powers more complicated (swapping them out during a short rest - but it was a daily that you just used?) than they really need to be. I don't think it's that much more of a power bump to given an extra utility flat-out that you'd need to be concerned about it. Utility powers provide support functions in contrast to "Kill!" attack powers, so it's not likely to throw the balance of the game completely out of whack. If you're not comfortable with that then allow people to add a skill power to their power list by spending a feat. Like others, they'd be retrainable later. We're probably not getting power cards because the PHB3 is still a long ways off. Power cards probably won't be far behind once it's released.
#9 wyattsalazar Sep 05, 2009 11:02:55	The 4th and 8th levels don't add powers, so I would just let the everyone get a SP at 4th, 8th, 18th and 28th. Most skill powers aren't really worth a real power and aren't really that problematic (So far) and I don't expect even the paragon and epic ones to be unbalancing.
#10 mikropone Sep 06, 2009 0:20:13	@Neutro: I'm going to stay away from making yet another feat but you're probably right that it's not too big of a power bump.... but I love the idea of sideboarding! what to do, what to do... @Wyatt: hm, giving an extra utility slot at 4th, 8th etc... I like that idea. I think I might to that, but still sideboard hahaha! Well thanks for the feedback and suggestions everyone. Now all that's left to do is to try it out in game and see how it goes.