One New York Life

I’m going to go ahead and assume that most readers of this blog aren’t now, nor have ever been, in to Dungeons & Dragons. If you were, you probably aren’t in to Fourth Edition. This will be Greek to you. Sorry. Please feel free to skip this.

To be honest, I’m not really into Fourth Edition either. I’ve been playing it because my group switched over to it. I got dragged, kicking and screaming, in to the new edition. And not in the same way as I got dragged in to Third Edition but then realized within a few weeks that it was far superior to Second Edition. But more in a “wow, I hate this and it’s not getting better because almost everything they said they were fixing in Fourth Edition is happening again as more books come out” sort of way. With Fourth Edition, Wizards of the Coast decided to take WoW and D&D’s origin as a miniatures game, shake them together, and spit out a new edition full of level-based powers, the idea that everyone should have an equal role in combat, and nerfing the idea of D&D as a “role-playing” game and morphing it in to a “real-time strategy” game. The flexibility (almost too flexible) of character creation from 3rd and 3.5rd editions were gone and replaced with this very rigid, very ordered, very (temporarily) balanced character creation. Wizards could cast magic missile every turn instead of once per day and do similar damage to fighters. Clerics were something other than heal sticks. Life was happy.

Sadly, something sacrificed to the Lords Of Balance was multiclassing. For the most part, multiclassing got hosed. The rigid point-buy system made all but the most closely associated classes nearly impossible and the scaling of monster defenses made it almost suicidal to not max out your class’s primary statistic. I learned this the hard way when my first character created under Fourth Edition rules was a Human Tactical Warlord with the 16/16/13 stat build. The character’s attacks in combat are based on strength, but the benefits he gives to the party are based on Intelligence. For the benefit of the party, I made my Strength and Intelligence equal, put the stat boost in Strength, and flailed ineffectually in combat while the party benefited from the character’s Intelligence abilities. Not as fun as you might think in a version that is heavily, heavily geared toward combat. As the character leveled, I tried to dabble in multiclass Wizardry and, like mostly everyone else, got frustrated by the lack of good multiclass stuff in 4ed. I complained about the lack of ranged Warlords because, I argued, leaders should be able to lead from distance. I complained that I couldn’t effectively make use of multiclassing because the Warlord’s intelligence, while high, couldn’t effectively use implement powers. This went on until, I’m sure, my group got sick of listening. Eventually, when we went on a month-long break, and very soon after Arcane Power came out, I thought maybe there might be a way to do the multiclass.

The Warlord class offers something no other class does — two at-will abilities that don’t require you to actually HIT anything’s AC. Commander’s Strike from the Player’s Handbook (PHB1) and Opening Shove from Martial Powers (MP) both offer benefits based on the Warlord’s Intelligence instead of his Strength. Effectively, he benefits from having a statistic other than the primary being the best. So, if the Warlord maxes Intelligence instead of Strength, then his at-will attack deals 1W + Fighter’s Strength + Warlord’s Intelligence. When used correctly, that’s a 1W + double max stat at-will — something available to no other classes. Opening Shove, on the other hand, requires a hit, but it requires a hit against something other than AC. With a strength of 14, the Warlord is getting +2 from his statistic and +3 from a longsword. +5 is exactly what an implement attacker of the same level gets to target things other than AC. With this realization and the knowledge that the Warlord’s action point boost and many of its feats are keyed on Intelligence, I started building the Warlord with the idea that 1) maybe I could build a character while willfully ignoring his primary stat and 2) get ranged attacks from something other than Warlord that’s keyed on Intelligence… like Wizard.

With this in mind, I threw out the entire character I had, started with the 18/14/11 build, used Eladrin, and started with 20 Int and 14 Strength. The high Intelligence, change of race, and first level feat (Multiclass Wizard from PHB) immediately addressed two problems with the low level Warlord: two extra points of AC, the ability to escape bad situations (Eladrin teleport), and a ranged attack (Scorching Burst or Magic Missile). Round out the level one abilities with the Hammer and Anvil encounter (PHB1, Weapon, Strength vs. Reflex) and Fearless Rescue daily (MP, Weapon, Strength +1 vs. AC, heal a dead ally), the character only has one ability that targets AC, and that one has a useful effect even in the case of a miss.

From there, the character builds slowly. At level two, as an Eladrin, add Eladrin Sword Wizardry (AP) to give the character longswords as implements. Using the longsword as an implement, you effectively have a double magic item that will eventually boost all attacks. At fourth level, replace the level 3 Warlord encounter with Icy Rays (PHB1). At level 6, take Melee Training (PHB2) and the character now has melee basics on par with the fighter’s and implement attacks on par with the wizard’s. At level 8, take the utility replacement to get Shield (PHB1) to escape one attack. At level 10, take the Daily replacement power to get a Wizard Daily. With the daily and encounter swap feats, it opens up the ability to select wizard powers at levels where there isn’t an available Weapon vs. non-AC strength attack for Warlords.

At paragon level, I chose to go with Wizard of the Spiral Tower from PHB1 because of its two awesome immediate benefits. First, it grants longsword as implement, allowing you retrain that feat in to something else (like Tactical Inspiration from MP which grants your INT bonus to healing word). Second, it grants you the unbelievably awesome The One Sword encounter attack power which is a Weapon, 2W + Int + Daze power that targets non-AC that isn’t expended when it hits.

If you’re keeping track, that means this particular build with maxed Intelligence is now basic attacking at +6 (same as a max-Strength fighter), healing at 3d6+6 (same as a max-Wisdom cleric), implement attacking at +6 (same as a max-Int wizard), granting +3 to your allies on all their action point attacks (+3/+6 at 12th level when you take Tactical Assault Surge), and (as long as you take only Warlord abilities that target non-AC) weapon attacking against defenses at about the same rate as a max-stat implement attacker. His at will is dealing 1W + 12 + whatever goodness the fighter has for Melee Basics. He’s able to shift both his party and bad guys around the battle field, has healing, range, melee, defense, and is generally awesome.

I haven’t really found any other builds where this is valid as it relies hugely on the Warlord’s unique at-will selection and plenty of available weapon powers that target things other than AC. But, if you go way, WAY outside the box, there is a way to save multiclassing.

At Level 12 assuming +3 gear:

Stats: S:17,C:11,D:11,I:23,W:11,C:12 S:17,C:11,D:14,I:23,W:9,C:11
Trained Skills: Arcana, Athletics, Diplomacy, Endurance, Heal, Perception
Defenses: AC:29, F:22, R:25, W:21
Feats: Multiclass Wizard, Multiclass encounter, Multiclass utility, Multiclass daily, Melee Training (INT for MBAs), Tactical Inspiration (INT to healing), Tactical Assault (INT to action point damage).
At-Will: Commander’s Strike, Opening Shove
Encounter: Magic Missile, Hammer and Anvil, Luring Focus (L1 in L3 slot), Fire Burst, The One Sword
Daily: Fearless Rescue, A Rock And A Hard Place, Taunting Phantoms
Utility: Forward Observer, Shield, Marked Revelation, Shape The Dream
Melee Basic/The One Sword: +19/+9
Weapon: +16/+6
Implement: +16/+9
Healing Word: +3d6 + 6

1) Season 4′s primary theme appears to be duality. There are some heavy handed references. Clark returns to Earth in a blaze of fire as Kal-El, which is the third distinct personality we’ve seen in him: “Clark” is the Kent-raised boy we all know and love, “Kal” is the red kryptonite fueled Superman without morals, and “Kal-El” is the version of Superman that Bruce Wayne would become if suddenly given those powers. In addition to Clark’s dual personality, Lana picks up the spirit of a 400 year old witch, Chloe learns of Clark’s abilities and has to be with Clark while hiding her own secret, new guy Jason turns evil mid-season to work for his mother, Lionel Luthor temporarily steals Clark’s body and this causes him to repress his evilness and turn good, and the incredibly awesome “split Lex” episode where they borrow the Star Trek plot of someone being split in to two people — one with all their goodness and one with all their evil.

2) The secondary theme is finally, in the fourth season, addressing the “destiny” that Jor-El has been hinting at since season one. The destiny is, apparently, to unite three stones of knowledge to do…… something. It’s never really clear what these stones do except they contain “all the knowledge of Krypton.” They give the audience frustratingly little. We discover that Kryptonians hid the stones on Earth over 400 years ago and a witch in ancient France was looking for them. It’s still not particularly clear the number of Kryptonians who know about Earth.

3) As for the new characters, Sam Jones III was replaced with Jensen Ackles. Ackles plays a guy Lana meets during her summer in France. She somewhat creepily starts dating an ex-college quarterback who happens to look almost exactly like her recently dead high school quarterback boyfriend. Later, he turns up in Smallville working as a coach at Smallville High for her senior year. As the season wears on, we discover that their meeting probably was arranged by his mother (played by Jane Seymour) who is obsessed with finding the aforementioned three stones. Glossed over is the weird fact that 17-year-old Lois meets 22-year-old college guy in Paris who then follows her back to Smallville, gets a job as a football coach in her high school, and ostensibly starts secretly banging her. Also introduced this season, Lois Lane, who is supposed to be 19 but looks 37. Erica Durance won’t join the credits until next season but, well, she’s Lois Lane so it bears mentioning. Metropolis University refuses to accept her because she’s missing a few high school credits and, since her father is an army general stationed on a base in Smallville, she has to repeat her senior year at Smallville High.

4) Margot Kidder also briefly joins the cast as Dr Swann’s (played by Christopher Reeve) assistant. I think she really shows up because this year marked Reeve’s passing. They likely needed someone to enlighten Clark to the presence of the stones and give them a hint to what they do which include, but are not limited to, restoring Clark’s powers when they’re lost, hurting high school girls possessed by witches, swapping bodies, and allowing Jor-El to take over Lionel Luthor’s body. Nothing says deus ex machina like random artifacts. Margot Kidder ended up as a body by season’s end to get one of the stones in to Lionel’s hands. It was nice that Dr. Swann’s final message to Clark on his passing was about forging destiny and such. I thought it handled Reeve’s passing nicely.

5) Little thing that I really appreciated from season four: Clark decides he’s going to be a football player and Chloe, seeing that Lana and Clark are finally done, goes to a pep rally to cheer Clark on. At the pep rally, Avril Lavigne’s “So Much For My Happy Ending” is playing in the background. Chloe is smiling and happy, until she notices that Clark seems to be flirty with Lois Lane. Without missing a beat, Chloe goes from smiling to crestfallen as she realize Clark has jumped right from having a thing for Lana to having a thing for Lois and she’s missed her shot again. Her face changes at the exact moment the lyrics say “so much for my happy ending.” Without missing a beat it goes from pep rally song to “you poor thing” song.

6) Season four marks the point at which we start collecting some other DC characters. Flash shows up as a petty thief. Mxlpltk arrives as a Russian bookie who uses his powers to change the outcome of football games to his own benefit. We also get one of the few “rehabilitated” meteor freaks as Fatal Attraction Alicia gets out of Belle Reve after her obsession with Clark is cured. As per usual, though, the Smallville writers waste very little time in killing her off two episodes later. And, as per usual, I didn’t really understand the purpose in killing her off. She made a decent version of Catwoman for this show. She appeared and tried to get Clark to fall back in love with her. When she saw his morals were what was keeping him away, she dosed him with red kryptonite and took him to Vegas. After an attack of conscience, she takes the red kryptonite off, apologizes, and teleports away. Then, to prove to Chloe that not all meteor-freaks are bad people, Alicia kidnaps Chloe and sets up a situation where Chloe has to see Clark use his abilities. Then dies. Of course.

7) Most absurd moment of the season… and possibly the series. Lana is taken over by a 400 year old countess witch during her trip to France (less ridiculous as we discover it was set-up by Genvieve and Jason Teague). The countess is a distant relative of Lana who was able to store her essence in such a way as she’d be able to resurrect inside an ancestor. After Lana suspects what’s going on, she researches the countess and finds that she had a journal/spellbook that survived the years. She finds the countess’s 400-year-old spellbook…. on eBay. Really? Ancient spellbooks on Ebay? Of all the Spellbooks on eBay, none are ancient and most are Magic cards.

8) You know how at a certain point in the 24 universe, it gets really old when certain people don’t listen to Jack Bauer because he’s never, ever wrong? I’m officially there in Smallville. Like, when Clark tells you that something’s up with someone, he’s yet to be wrong. Clark mentions that Jason might not be entirely on the up and up, and Lana freaks out. Someone tattles on Jason at school (that he’s dating a student) and she immediately blames Clark and assume he’s being jealous — even though he’s never shown any jealous tendencies. Superman deserves Jack Bauer status.

9) Probably the best episode of this show I’ve seen to this point in the series borrows from an episode of original Star Trek. Due to an experiment with onyx kryptonite, Lex Luthor gets divided in to two people — one holding all his goodness and one holding all his evil. We finally get just balls-out, evil genius Lex Luthor… and it’s awesome. Just great to see what (I hope) we’re going to get from Michael Rosenbaum by the end of the series. Lex, wearing a kryptonite ring, beats up Clark in his barn. When the Kents arrive to break it up, Lex shoots him in the leg and says “You were right about me all along Mr. Kent. I am the villain of the story.” Later, in a fantastic nod to fanboys — Lex, still wearing the ring, beats the bejesus out of Clark. Toward the end, he delivers this line: “I want you to remember this day, Clark. I want you to remember that despite all your amazing powers, there was one man that beat you.” This is almost exactly the same line Batman delivers in Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns — an incredible book released right around the time the Watchman graphic novel in which an older Batman is tapped to defeat a government-controlled Superman. Just before Batman lets Clark go, he says: “I want you to remember, Clark… in all the years to come… in your most private moments… I want you to remember my hand at your throat… I want you to remember the one man who beat you…” Loved it. This is also the second time Lex has learned about Clark’s powers and forgotten about it for one reason or another.

10) The season ends in normal Smallville, cliffhanger fashion. Amidst a second meteor shower, Clark finally assembles the three stones and finds himself teleported to the real Fortress of Solitude in the Arctic. Lana, while attempting to escape the meteor shower is in a helicopter crash and finds a new Kryptonian spaceship. Clark has ostensibly fulfilled part of Kryptonian destiny, Chloe travels to the Arctic with Clark and will soon reveal her secret, Lana has divested herself of her alternate personality, and the Teaghe family is likely dead.