This is the Q&A section for the 4e game meant to introduce 3.5/3e players to the new system, 4e tabletop veterans to playing 4e online (myself in this category), and even players completely new to D&D to just about everything!

First off I'd like to welcome Shield Wolf, Tus Lased, Night Monkey and Mixmoff to the Red Dragon Inn! Feel free to introduce yourselves to the community at large in the comings and goings forum if you would like.

Here is the party thusfar:

Dwarven Warden played by gboy
Elven Druid played by Tus Lased
Half-elven Shaman played by Shield Wolf
Half-elven Warlock played by Night Monkey
Human Ranger played by Mixmoff

Overall it appears we will have a very aggressive and very methodical party. Right now I am only really familiar with one character in-depth, so as I post them and study them this thread can be used for strategy and tips out of combat.

Unlike 3e, 4th edition relies on communication between players (not characters) to get the most. It plays almost like a wargame during battles and a party that communicates tactically will surely find that combat goes easier. This can be justified from a role play perspective by illustrating that the party knows each other and has been adventuring together for a few months - and familiar with what each other can do. Aside from that a couple of shouted commands and statements here and there during battle can cover it.

The party has above average stats mostly as a luxury to me as the DM. I won't feel too bad about throwing more devious, deadly, and entertaining traps, hazards and enemies into the fray. Consider it my cushion for experimentation.

I am in the process of standardizing the character sheets. Stay tuned.
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Cain Earthhammer
Dwarf Warden 1

Class Features:
Font of Life
Guardian Might (Earthstrength)
Nature's Wrath

ABILITY SCORES
Str 18 (+4)
Con 16 (+3)(14+2 Racial)
Dex 10 (+0)
Int 8 (-1)
Wis 13 (+1)(11+2 Racial)
Cha 10 (+0)


AC: 17 Fort: 14 Reflex: 10 Will: 12
HP: 33 Surges: 12 Surge Value: 8

TRAINED SKILLS
Nature: +6
Dungeoneering: +8
Endurance: +10
Perception: +6

UNTRAINED SKILLS


FEATS
Level 1: Weapon Expertise (Hammer)

POWERS
Warden Class Feature: Warden's Fury
Warden Class Feature: Warden's Grasp
Warden at-will 1: Thorn Strike
Warden at-will 1: Strength of Stone
Warden encounter 1: Thunder Ram Assault
Warden daily 1: Form of the Relentless Panther

ITEMS
Warhammer, Hide Armor, Light Shield, Backpack (empty), Flint and Steel, Rope, hempen (50 ft.), Waterskin, Bedroll (2), Sunrods (2), Meal, Common (4)


===============
Adanion Duskwalker
Human, Ranger 1
Build: Two-Blade Ranger
Fighting Style: Two-Blade Fighting Style
Birth : Among Another Race (Elf)

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 20, Con 13, Dex 16, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 11.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 18, Con 13, Dex 16, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 11.


AC: 16 Fort: 17 Reflex: 15 Will: 13
HP: 30 Surges: 7 Surge Value: 7

TRAINED SKILLS
Perception +9, Dungeoneering +7, Athletics +9, Endurance +5, Acrobatics +7, Nature +7

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Arcana +1, Bluff, Diplomacy, Heal +2, History +1, Insight +2, Intimidate, Religion +1, Stealth +2, Streetwise, Thievery +2

FEATS
Human: Lethal Hunter
Level 1: Weapon Proficiency (Bastard sword)

POWERS
Ranger at-will 1: Hit and Run
Ranger at-will 1: Twin Strike
Ranger encounter 1: Evasive Strike
Ranger daily 1: Hunter's Bear Trap
Human: Nimble Strike

ITEMS
Bastard sword (2), Hide Armor, Backpack (empty), Bedroll (2), Flint and Steel, Meal, Common (4), Rope, hempen (50 ft.), Sunrods (2), Waterskin

================================
Elven Druid 1
Alignment:
Size: Medium
Speed: 8 squares
Vision: Low-light
Languages: Common, Elven
Skill Bonuses: +2 Nature, +2 Perception
Elven Weapon Proficiency
Fey Origin
Group Awareness
Wild Step
Elven Accuracy

Class Features:

Primal Predator
Ritual Casting
Wild Shape

ABILITY SCORES
Str 11 (+0)
Con 14 (+2)
Dex 18 (+4)
Int 13 (+1)
Wis 20 (+5)
Cha 12 (+1)

AC: 17 Fort: 12 Reflex: 15 Will: 16
HP: 26 Surges: 9 Surge Value: 6
Initiative: +4

Armor Proficiencies: Cloth, leather, hide
Weapon Proficiencies: Simple melee, simple ranged
Implements: Totem or Staff

TRAINED SKILLS
Nature
Heal
Perception
Arcana

FEAT
Implement (Staff) Expertise

POWERS
Elven Accuracy
Wild Shape
Savage Rend
Grasping Claws
Flame Seed
Twisting Vines
Fires of Life

RITUALS
Animal Messenger
Silence

ITEMS
Quarterstaff
Hide Armor
Dagger x5
Backpack
Bedroll
Flint and steel
Pouch, belt
Rations, trail (10 days)
Rope, hempen
Sunrods (2) .
Waterskin
50 gp

===================================
Name:
Half-Elf Shaman 1
Alignment:
Size: Medium
Speed: 6 squares
Vision: Low-light
Languages: Common, Elven, choice of one other
Skill Bonuses: +2 Diplomacy, +2 Insight
Dilettante
Dual Heritage
Group Diplomacy

Class Features:

Companion Spirit
Protector Spirit
Healing Spirit
Speak with Spirits

ABILITY SCORES
Str 11 (+0)
Con 18 (+4)
Dex 12 (+1)
Int 14 (+2)
Wis 18 (+4)
Cha 15 (+2)

AC: 14 Fort: 15 Reflex: 12 Will: 15
HP: 30 Surges: 11 Surge Value: 7
Initiative: +1

Armor Proficiencies: Cloth, leather
Weapon Proficiencies: Simple melee, longspear
Implements: Totems

TRAINED SKILLS
Nature
Heal
Perception
Religion

FEAT
Totem Expertise

POWERS
Spirit’s Shield
Call Spirit Companion
Healing Spirit
Speak with Spirits
Protecting Strike
Stalker’s Strike
Thunder Bear’s Warding
Thorn Whip
Spirit of the Healing Flood

ITEMS
Longspear
Totem
Leather Armor
Backpack
Bedroll
Flint and steel
Pouch, belt
Rations, trail (10 days)
Rope, hempen
Sunrods (2) .
Waterskin
55 gp

=====================
Toriath Aleirin, level 1
Half-Elf, Warlock
Warlock Pact: Fey pact
Alignment: Unaligned
Occupation - Mariner

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 12, Con 16, Dex 13, Int 16, Wis 11, Cha 20.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 12, Con 14, Dex 13, Int 16, Wis 11, Cha 18.

AC: 15 Fort: 13 Reflex: 14 Will: 16
HP: 26 Surges: 9 Surge Value: 6

TRAINED SKILLS
Arcana +8, Bluff +10, Streetwise +10, Thievery +6.
OTHER SKILLS
Acrobatics +1, Athletics +1, Diplomacy +7, Endurance +3, Heal +0, History +3, Insight +2, Intimidate +5, Religion +3, Stealth +1.

FEATS
Level 1: Implement Expertise (Rod)

POWERS
Warlock at-will 1: Eldritch Blast
Warlock at-will 1: Eyebite
Half-Elf: Vicious Mockery
Warlock encounter 1: Witchfire
Warlock daily 1: Curse of the Dark Dream

ITEMS
Rod, Dagger, Leather Armour, Backpack (empty), Flint and Steel, Rope, hempen (50 ft.), Waterskin, Bedroll (2), Sunrods (2), Meal, Common (4)

Future space for tactical strategies, what works, what doesn't work, and comments about character abilities.

First off I would like to speak about enemy roles. I already listed the character roles in the recruitment thread, but enemies have similar roles as well!

Controller Enemy controllers are just nasty buggers. Take them down first if at all possible or they will ruin your tactical strategies.

Skirmishers The most annoying of the enemy roles, but also the least dangerous. They focus on mobility and hit and run tactics, but tend to do little damage.

Brutes They are slow and powerful, doing large amounts of damage with large amounts of health. Low priority if controllers or artillery are present, high priority if not.

Soldier Benchmark enemies. They are good at everything they do. Often come in groups. Medium-low priority, just keep an eye on them.

Lurker They like to hide, and come up when you least expect them. it's best to just let them do their thing until you get a clear shot, then take them down quick before they get back to hiding.

Artillery Very, very bad. These guys should always be top priority if at all possible, but usually they are too well guarded. Luckily they have glass jaws if you do manage to get a shot in on one.

Some enemies have special keywords as well:

Leader The enemy leader has healing and buffing abilities in addition to their regular roles. Chances are your leader enemy will be top priority unless they are too well guarded or, for instance, a brute leader with several controller and artillery friends.

Minion These guys always have exactly 1 hp. They have decent attacks, but always do a fixed amount of damage. They give 1/4th the experience of a regular monster of this level, so expect to find minions in groups of 4. Missed attacks never damage a minion, even if the power says otherwise.

Elite These guys are extra powerful, and are basically equal to two enemies in one. Use caution as they have more health that you would expect.

Solo Equal to five enemies in one. These are your dragons and other super baddies. Almost always attack and fight alone.

Our party has a very front-loaded format, in that I expect to see very high damage output from a number of sources, and with very little downtime. But I also see the potential for breakdown without a bit of pre-planning.

For instance, the warden (defender) can heal himself a little, and typically has the goal of making sure as many enemies as possible are hitting him. Let's assume he has three enemies on him, and surviving while the warlock (striker) starts working on one of the three. Meanwhile the ranger (striker) is 10 squares away cutting apart some beefy soldier-type and holding his own.

The shaman (leader) now has a choice. He can either send his spirit to flank with the ranger and take down the beefy guy faster, or send the spirit over to the warden and help keep a larger number of enemies locked into place while he and the warlock work on them.

What is the druid (controller) doing during all of this? He could be at either front, or keeping the two less-threatening enemies in the back from joining the fight. He could be sliding enemies next to the warden, away from the warlock or shaman, or keeping the ranger's prey from running.

This many options makes it more likely to make a wrong choice. Consider an alternative:

The warden has five enemies around him (three from earlier plus the two the druid was fighting alone), not doing a whole lot of damage but keeping them at bay, with some help from the druid who is keeping them all from leaving the warden's side.

The ranger is still fighting the beefy guy only this time the warlock is also unloading into him. Now the choice for the shaman is easy - keep the warden and druid healthy while the big guy goes down. It shouldn't be long with both strikers marked and focused on it, and with the warlock's curses the ranger doesn't have as much retaliation to fear and it frees up the shaman to focus on keeping the warden alive.

When that's done you have the remaining enemies all packaged up and sufficiently weakened for the ranger and warlock to come in and mop up rather quickly.

I will be the first to warn the rest of you, I have never played a healer, and as such may not be the best at it, but I'll give it 110%. It may take me some getting used to to know what I can do, the ranges, needed rolls, and all that stuff, but trust me I'm a quick learner, and it shouldn't take me that long to pick it up.

Since this is my first D&D game ever, I'm just going to assume everything everyone else does is perfectly right.

You could be healing yourself when you have full health and I'd just assume there was some intricate reason I know nothing about!

Wow, an evil character could have so much fun with that level of blind loyalty..

Don't worry, 4E doesn't have much in the way of intricacies in combat. You play your role and co-operate with the rest of the party.

So DON'T stab my party in their faces?

Got it!

Face stabbing your friends only leads to loss of friends and acquiring new enemies, it is not recommended.

Just waiting to hear back from our druid buddy

Gah, why am I the only dwarf in a party that 60% of it has elven blood in them???

This is just going to be a fun RP time... Dwarves don't so much mix with them.

I think I'm going to become good friend with the only other elf blood free character... I'm looking forward to it.

Keep positive thoughts there, shorty.

I realize this was probably very unintentional on your part, but this adventure reminds me a lot of the Sand People bounty quest in KotOR, kill sand people, get their weapons as proof, and get the chiefs for a bonus. I wonder of WotC did that on purpose?

And now for an actual question, what I've read on my character sheet doesn't make this very clear, so I'm just going to ask. Can other people see my Spirit companion, or do I look like more of a loon than the drunkard warlock who thinks visions of fey gave him his power? I mean seriously, if someone claims to talk to the spirits and get advice from them, yet no one else sees them, wouldn't you think he was a little bit crazy?

Don't offend the fey spirits my friend, you won't want to risk incurring their wrath.

I was not making any sort of offensive comments regarding the fey, I was talking more about the Shaman, not so much the warlock, though I'm sure the others might find him a bit nutty, I imagine the shaman would be a little more open-minded to the idea because of his own connection to spirits.