Fourth Edition tips
Here are some tips on adjusting to 4E.
Dicking around with others
# You are limited to one opportunity attack per combatant’s turn. This means a creature can run circles around you while only provoking one attack. You can make any number of opportunity attacks every full round, though. You must use a basic melee attack, rather than one of your powers.
# You are limited to one immediate action per round. Immediate actions cannot be used on your turn.
# Certain abilities let you push, pull, or slide targets. A push must move the target away from you, a pull closer, and there are no restrictions on a slide. These types of forced movement ignore difficult terrain penalties, are not restricted by any effects that affect the target (like immobilization or unconsciousness) and do not provoke opportunity attacks, but will trigger traps and are subject to environmental features (like pits).
Understanding keywords and powers
Page 54-59 of the PHB do this quite succinctly. I’ll just make a few notes:
# Opportunity attacks are provoked from adjacent enemies by Ranged and Area attacks.
# Immediate interrupts happen before the trigger resolves, while immediate reactions happen after. For example, you might interrupt an attack by raising up a shield to deflect it, while rolling with a blow would require the blow to happen in order for you to react to it.
IMA CHARGIN MAH LAZAH
# Some monsters have encounter powers that recharge. At the beginning of the monster’s turn, if that power has been expended it will roll a d6. A power with “Recharge 5 6″ will recharge on a roll of 5 or 6. This is typically not known to you, but a good perception score will possibly prompt cues from me.
Cover, aka making life more complicated for everyone
# If a line from any corner of your square to any corner of the target’s square is blocked, the target has cover. -2 attack.
# If at least three lines are blocked, the target has superior cover. -5 attack.
# Allies never block your target. Enemies always do.
# Close and area attacks use the origin square, not the attacker’s square. They also do not let creatures provide cover for one another.
# If the target is lightly obscured or adjacent and heavily obscured, the target has concealment. -2 attack.
# If the target is invisible, in a totally obscured square, or in a non-adjacent heavily obscured square, the target has superior concealment. -5 attack.
Pwning for dummies
# Attacking non-AC defenses is almost always superior to attacking AC, and is often very much superior. For example: vanilla goblins have AC 16, Fort 12, Reflex 14, and Will 11. Even a wizard is bound to have a half-decent AC now.
# Prone is not as debilitating as it once was. You grant combat advantage to melee attacks (which is -2 to be AC), get +2 to AC versus ranged attacks and take a -2 penalty to attacks. As a move action you can crawl, which is like a regular move but at half speed. As a move action you can get up, which does not provoke attacks of opportunity.
# Charging usually sucks, because you are forced to use a basic melee attack for the meager benefit of +1 to attack.
# Bull Rushing is Str vs. Fort, and lets you push the target one square.
# Total Defense: standard action, +2 to defenses. It’s often better to use your second wind.
Talking? What’s that?
# Skill Challenges are a way to resolve non-combat encounters with mechanics as clear-cut as those used in combat encounters. They require the party to obtain a certain number of skill successes before a certain number of skill failures. Each challenge has a number of eligible skills to use towards it, which will either be obvious or hinted at. I will always inform you of the nature of the skill challenge, so don’t worry about them for now.
# I will be using passive checks, the equivalent of taking 10 all the time, to dispense information without a prompt from you. You might get an uneasy feeling from the person you are treating with, or you might notice that the stonework on the floor doesn’t seem natural. If you spend a minor action to actually roll a check for yourself, you can perhaps learn more, finding out whether those goblins might be rogues or that the chancellor is sweating an awful lot.
OMG HEALZ
# Healing surges are a measure of your fortitude and life energy. Each will let you heal a quarter of your max hp, rounded down.
# In general, having more healing surges means you will live longer. Most healing abilities don’t directly heal hp, but rather let you use healing surges (perhaps with bonuses).
# The only ways to use a healing surge for healing is through the Second Wind encounter power, being outside of combat, or having another class use a power that lets you use one.
Lewt
# Healing surges may be consumed to power the abilities of certain magical items.
# You are limited to using one magical item’s daily or healing surge power per day. This limit is reset at milestones, just like action points. The milestone does not refresh the daily power, just your ability to use daily powers.
