Asmor's Geek Blog

4th edition’s suggestions for magic item distribution has never been entirely satisfactory to me. Even as a player, I hate digging around to find enough things to fill out a wish list.

A lot of people also don’t care for the idea of the PCs always finding exactly what they want. There are various arguments for it, from matters of verisimilitude to those who enjoy the unexpected.

While reading through the new Essentials Rules Compendium on the train today, I had an epiphany.

First, a brief tangent. Schrödinger’s Gun is not my cat’s firearm, but rather the idea that until you, the DM, describe something to the players, the exact details can be changed without them ever knowing. Joe guesses that the kindly baron is really the BBEG as soon as he’s introduced? Change it!

So now we can apply the idea of Schrödinger’s gun to magic items. 4e assumes that PCs can figure out most magic items after spending a few minutes with them… Scratch that! From now on, the PCs simply get “some armor,” “a weapon,” or “some bracers.”

Then you give them a coupon with a slot, rarity and a level. The bearer of the coupon may turn it into any item for that slot, at that level or lower and that rarity or lower.

In game terms, when the PC finally decides what the item is, they’ve ‘identified’ it.

This adds some randomness back into the process, since the PCs have no control over what slot the item is for. It also adds some more competition for items. No longer does the set of plate armor go straight to the fighter. Rather, everyone has an interest in the generic, unidentified armor that was just found.

For players, it also gives them a lot more direction. Having to find an item of a particular level can be daunting, given all the choices. It’s much easier to pick something out with the slot so constrained.

Here are some tables you can roll on to determine type and rarity.

D&D’s combat is great for dramatic fights, but it can be a bit of a drag when you keep pulling it out every time the PCs encounter a random brigand or bear. It can also be quite disruptive if for example a PC unexpectedly provokes a guard, and can lead to an inordinate amount of time being wasted on something of little consequence.

Enter skirmishes. Skirmishes are abstract combat. PCs roll initiative, use powers, and ultimately take damage in the form of healing surges.

Important note: Skirmishes have a threshold stat. When a player rolls damage, they gain a hit for every full multiple of the skirmish’s threshold which they beat. For example, if the threshold is 12 and the player rolls at least 12 damage, they’ll score one hit. If they roll at least 24, they’d instead score 2 hits, etc. Each role allows you to spend hits to do certain things.

To resolve a skirmish,

1. Take note of the skirmish’s stats, which are based on its level. Feel free to tweak the stats to suit the particular skirmish. For example, if the skirmish involves goblins, you might decrease the skirmish’s will defense and increase its reflex.
2. Calculate the starting surge damage. This is the initial surge damage from the table times the number of players. For example, if the initial surge damage is 2 and there are 5 players, the surge damage starts at 10.
3. Each player rolls initiative. The DM rolls initiative for the skirmish. Players act in initiative order, but may delay their turn as normal.
4. On a player’s turn, he uses one of his attack powers. If the player uses a daily power, he gets a +2 bonus on the attack roll. If the power affects multiple targets, the player only makes one attack roll, but gets a +5/tier bonus to damage. If they hit, apply the following effects based on the character’s role.
   • Controller: The skirmish gets -2 to all defenses during the next PC’s turn. Controllers may spend hits as follows.
     • 1 hit: Extend the duration of the defense penalty one additional PC’s turn.
     • 2 hits: Reduce surge damage by 1.
   • Leader: A character of your choice gains a +5/tier bonus to their next damage roll. Leaders may spend hits as follows.
     • 1 hit: A character of your choice gains a +5/tier bonus to their next damage roll. (this bonus stacks)
     • 3 hits: reduce surge damage by 2.
   • Defender: The defender may lose a healing surge to reduce surge damage by 1. Defenders may spend hits as follows.
     • 1 hit: The defender may lose a healing surge to reduce surge damage by 1.
     • 2 hits: Reduce surge damage by 1.
   • Striker: Reduce surge damage by 1. Strikers may spend hits as follows.
     • 1 hit: Reduce surge damage by 1.
     • 2 hits: Reduce surge damage by 3.
5. On the skirmish’s turn, double the current surge damage.
6. After everyone’s had a turn, distribute the surge damage among players as equally as possible. For example, if there are 5 PCs and 7 surge damage, 2 PCs must take 2 surge damage and the other 3 PCs must each take 1 surge damage. Players decide amongst themselves who gets the larger shares. For each point of surge damage, the PC loses a healing surge. If the PC has no more healing surges left, he takes damage equal to his surge value for each point of surge damage he couldn’t pay.
7. In the unlikely event that the PCs are all knocked unconscious, they have been defeated. Otherwise, they’re victorious. Their victory takes whatever form is appropriate, e.g. quelling a rebellion, slaughtering demons, or chasing off a pack of wolves. Just remember, this is meant to be a abstract an actual battle, and the story should follow exactly as if you’d played through the battle normally.

Skirmish statistics by level

Please note that I haven’t playtested this, and in particular the numbers probably need tweaking (especially the initial surge damage and threshold).

One of the cool things about the Player’s Handbook 3 for 4th edition is that all of the new races have one static ability score modifier, and a choice between two for their second bonus. Unfortunately, the older races don’t have this luxury, and one would hope Wizards of the Coast might go and retrofit them, but it’s simple enough to do on your own.

Here are my suggestions.

Player’s Handbook

• Dragonborn: +2 Strength, +2 Charisma or +2 Constitution
• Dwarf: +2 Constitution, +2 Strength or +2 Wisdom
• Eladrin: +2 Intelligence, +2 Dexterity or +2 Charisma
• Elf: +2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence or +2 Wisdom
• Half-Elf: +2 Charisma, +2 Constitution or +2 Dexterity
• Halfling: +2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma or +2 Wisdom
• Human: +2 to any ability.
• Tiefling: +2 Intelligence, +2 Charisma or +2 Dexterity

Player’s Handbook 2

• Deva: +2 Wisdom, +2 Intelligence or +2 Charisma
• Gnome: +2 Intelligence, +2 Charisma or +2 Dexterity
• Goliath: +2 Strength, +2 Constitution or +2 Wisdom
• Half-Orc: +2 Strength , +2 Constitution or +2 Dexterity
• Longtooth Shifter: +2 Strength, +2 Constitution or +2 Wisdom
• Razorclaw Shifter: +2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution or +2 Wisdom

Dragon

• Gnoll: +2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution or +2 Charisma
• Revenant: +2 Constitution, +2 Dexterity or +2 Wisdom
• Shadar-Kai: +2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence or +2 Constitution

Forgotten Realms

• Drow: +2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma or +2 Intelligence
• Genasi: +2 Intelligence, +2 Dexterity or +2 Strength

Eberron

• Changeling: +2 Charisma, +2 Dexterity or +2 Intelligence
• Kalashtar: +2 Charisma, +2 Wisdom or +2 Intelligence
• Warforged: +2 Strength, +2 Constitution or +2 Dexterity

Manual of the Planes

• Bladeling: +2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom or +2 Constitution

Monster Manual

• Bugbear: +2 Strength, +2 Consitution or +2 Dexterity
• Githyanki: +2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence or +2 Wisdom
• Goblin: +2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution or +2 Charisma
• Hobgoblin: +2 Constitution, +2 Charisma or +2 Dexterity
• Kobold: +2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution or +2 Wisdom
• Orc: +2 Constitution, +2 Strength or +2 Wisdom

Monster Manual 2

• Bullywug: +2 Constitution, +2 Dexterity or +2 Wisdom
• Duegar: +2 Wisdom, +2 Constitution or +2 Intelligence
• Kenku: +2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence or +2 Charisma

One of the things that always struck me as a bit… inelegant about 4th Edition is that leaders, who usually have powers which grant healing surges with bonuses, can basically use the healing powers as much as they want between encounters. I find this inelegant because there is at least an implicit–arguably perhaps even an explicit–expectation that players should spend their own healing surges between encounters to heal. (continue reading…)