Didn’t think I had a chance to win the Avatar Comics & Games painting competition and I was right. I also did not realize they had a best conversion category as well. My converted inquisitor lord with psycannon ended up winning that category. What can I say other than I am very happy. Now I just have to hop GW doesn’t screw with the inquisitors when they redo their codex. Oh and need to actually work on this guy’s retinue, lol.

Until next time…

After writing yesterday’s post, I started thinking about what character to play in the next “season” of D&D Encounters, which will be set in Dark Sun. Since the campaign book won’t be out until August I have to base my selection on what is available now.

D&D Encounters is a little different than your typical D&D campaign since characters are likely only going to level once or twice (if the season is long enough) so basically it is best to create a character that is optimized for 1st level with 2nd level just acting as a bonus to your key numbers like to-hit and defenses. With that in mind, here are a few characters I am considering. These characters will also have an additional encounter power based on their Theme, a new mechanic being added in Dark Sun.

Bane, level 1, Revenant, Assassin (Bleak Disciple), Choose your Race in Life: Githzerai, Background: Geography - Mountains (+2 to Athletics)
FINAL ABILITY SCORES - Str 8, Con 16, Dex 20, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 11.
STARTING ABILITY SCORES - Str 8, Con 14, Dex 18, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 11.
AC: 17 Fort: 14 Reflex: 15 Will: 11
HP: 26 Surges: 9 Surge Value: 6
TRAINED SKILLS - Stealth +10, Perception +5, Bluff +5, Acrobatics +10, Athletics +6
UNTRAINED SKILLS - Arcana, Diplomacy, Dungeoneering, Endurance +5, Heal, History, Insight, Intimidate +2, Nature, Religion, Streetwise, Thievery +5
FEATS - Level 1: Githzerai Blade Master
POWERS - Assassin at-will 1: Shadow Storm, Assassin at-will 1: Inescapable Blade, Assassin encounter 1: Smothering Shadow, Assassin daily 1: Grave Spike
ITEMS - Fullblade, Leather Armor, Adventurer’s Kit, Climber’s Kit, Thieves’ Tools

Bane is cool since his basic attack, Shadow Storm, is +8 vs. AC and does 1d12+7 damage with an additional +1 damage per creature adjacent to the target (which will always be at least +1 since Bane is adjacent to the target) along with any shrouds Bane puts on the target and invokes (so typically he will do 1d12+1d6+8 damage if he is the only one adjacent to the target and he has put one shroud on it and invokes that shroud). That’s pretty much in line with some of the other hard hitting strikers out there like Rangers, Rogues, and Barbarians. But Bane also has some serious mobility with Shadow Step and can hit extremely hard against bosses by putting his shrouds on them and killing off minions first (since they do not need shrouds) which will trigger his Dark Reaping racial power to be used on the boss.

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Skrag, level 1, Half-Orc, Rogue (Ruthless Ruffian), Rogue: Sharpshooter Talent (Crossbow), Background: Half-Orc - Orc Birth (+2 to Athletics)
FINAL ABILITY SCORES - Str 16, Con 11, Dex 20, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 8.
STARTING ABILITY SCORES - Str 14, Con 11, Dex 18, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 8.
AC: 17 Fort: 13 Reflex: 17 Will: 10
HP: 23 Surges: 6 Surge Value: 5
TRAINED SKILLS - Stealth +10, Thievery +10, Intimidate +6, Acrobatics +10, Athletics +10, Perception +5
UNTRAINED SKILLS - Arcana, Bluff -1, Diplomacy -1, Dungeoneering, Endurance +2, Heal, History, Insight, Nature, Religion, Streetwise -1
FEATS - Level 1: Backstabber
POWERS - Rogue at-will 1: Clever Strike, Rogue at-will 1: Disheartening Strike, Rogue encounter 1: One-Two Punch, Rogue daily 1: Checking Jab
ITEMS - Adventurer’s Kit, Leather Armor, Dagger, Mace, Hand Crossbow, Crossbow Bolts (20)

Skrag is a concept I’ve liked since Martial Power and the PH2 were released. He is more thug than rogue and has some cool aspects. Most of his powers are Rattling which cause the target to suffer a -2 to attack rolls until the end of Skrag’s next turn whenever he hits them. He also does better damage than a typical rogue since he uses a mace in two hands (1d8+1 damage) rather than a smaller weapon like a dagger (1d4) and adds his strength mod (+3) to damage with Rattling powers and has the half-orc racial for an additional 1d8 damage once per encounter. The only power he has that does not have the Rattling keyword is Clever Attack, which will only be used if he cannot get combat advantage through normal means. Skrag is a little squishy in comparison to the other characters here which may be a huge detriment depending on the healing ability of the party.

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Lo-Kag, level 1, Goliath, Runepriest (Wrathful Hammer), Background: Goliath - Lightlost (+2 to Athletics)
FINAL ABILITY SCORES - Str 20, Con 16, Dex 10, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 8.
STARTING ABILITY SCORES - Str 18, Con 14, Dex 10, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 8.
AC: 17 Fort: 15 Reflex: 10 Will: 11
HP: 28 Surges: 10 Surge Value: 7
TRAINED SKILLS - Religion +5, Heal +5, Endurance +8, Athletics +14
UNTRAINED SKILLS - Acrobatics, Arcana, Bluff -1, Diplomacy -1, Dungeoneering, History, Insight, Intimidate -1, Nature +2, Perception, Stealth, Streetwise -1, Thievery
FEATS - Level 1: Goliath Greatweapon Prowess
POWERS - Runepriest at-will 1: Word of Shielding, Runepriest at-will 1: Word of Diminishment, Runepriest encounter 1: Flames of Purity, Runepriest daily 1: Rune of the Undeniable Dawn
ITEMS - Adventurer’s Kit, Scale Armor, Maul

I really like the new runepriest class from PH3. The versatility is cool, although Lo-Kag will probably always be using the Rune of Destruction. It fits his character better and adds some serious damage ability to the party along with his own. Allies who attack a target adjacent to him get +1 to their attack rolls to start with and his basic attack, Word of Diminishment, does 2d6+7 damage with the maul and imparts vulnerability 2 to all damage on the target. Then there’s the power bonus to damage rolls the party receives from his encounter power and from his Rune of Mending (yeah, he’s a healer) as well as a damage buff he receives when he his hit. Optimization often means a character can perform a second role as well as his first. In Lo-Kag’s case, he’s a leader who basically hits as hard as a striker if you consider the extra damage done by party members as coming from him.

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Dak, level 1, Githzerai, Avenger (Censure of Pursuit), Background: Geography - Mountains (+2 to Athletics)
FINAL ABILITY SCORES - Str 8, Con 11, Dex 16, Int 10, Wis 20, Cha 10.
STARTING ABILITY SCORES - Str 8, Con 11, Dex 14, Int 10, Wis 18, Cha 10.
AC: 16 Fort: 11 Reflex: 14 Will: 16
HP: 25 Surges: 7 Surge Value: 6
TRAINED SKILLS - Religion +5, Endurance +5, Athletics +8, Acrobatics +10
UNTRAINED SKILLS - Arcana, Bluff, Diplomacy, Dungeoneering +5, Heal +5, History, Insight +5, Intimidate, Nature +5, Perception +5, Stealth +3, Streetwise, Thievery +3
FEATS - Level 1: Githzerai Blade Master
POWERS - Avenger at-will 1: Bond of Pursuit, Avenger at-will 1: Avenging Shackles, Avenger encounter 1: Angelic,  Alacrity, Avenger daily 1: Aspect of Might
ITEMS - Fullblade, Cloth Armor (Basic Clothing), Adventurer’s Kit

Dak was originally an elf because of their great speed and ability to ignore rough terrain when shifting (which a Pursuit Avenger may do a lot of), but you may have noticed a theme developing in my characters. I love the feats that grant +2 damage and weapon proficiency at heroic tier. It doesn’t sound like much, but trust me, it is. Currently there are only four such feats: for dwarves, eladrin, goliaths, and githzerai, but the eladrin one isn’t that great in most cases since it cannot be used with max damage weapons. Dak actually would be good as an elf due to the mobility and higher AC (with Unarmored Agility feat) of 19. That’s defender AC territory. But the githzerai gains a +2 bonus to damage over the elf so it’s kind of a tossup. A little more damage versus better movement and higher AC.

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After all that though, I think I am leaning towards this last character for the “season.” What can I say? I like dwarves. And who wouldn’t like a defender who has 35hp at 1st level with AC19 and does 1d12+7 damage with his main attack (which also grants resist 3)?

Durin, level 1, Dwarf, Battlemind (Battle Resilience), Background: Geography - Mountains (+2 to Athletics)
FINAL ABILITY SCORES - Str 9, Con 20, Dex 10, Int 10, Wis 16, Cha 10.
STARTING ABILITY SCORES - Str 9, Con 18, Dex 10, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 10.
AC: 19 Fort: 15 Reflex: 12 Will: 15
HP: 35 Surges: 14 Surge Value: 8
TRAINED SKILLS - Endurance +10, Heal +8, Athletics +4
UNTRAINED SKILLS - Acrobatics -2, Arcana, Bluff, Diplomacy, Dungeoneering +5, History, Insight +3, Intimidate, Nature +3, Perception +3, Religion, Stealth -2, Streetwise, Thievery -2
FEATS - Level 1: Dwarven Weapon Training
POWERS - Battlemind at-will 1: Iron Fist, Battlemind at-will 1: Whirling Defense, Battlemind daily 1: Aspect of Elevated Harmony
ITEMS - Scale Armor, Heavy Shield, Waraxe, Adventurer’s Kit

My biggest gripe about dwarves in 4th edition is their lack of strength. Many of the iconic classes for a dwarf: fighter, barbarian, cleric, runepriest, require strength as the primary attribute for attacks. For D&D Encounters this problem becomes even more of an issue since a character’s primary stat should be 20 for optimization of to-hit and damage. Fortunately the battlemind class provides a remedy since it is based on constitution. It is also better than other defender classes since constitution can be maxed for the greatest number of hp as well. About the only thing I don’t like about Durin is his mere +7 versus AC to-hit and his Battle Resilience kicks in regardless of whether or not the attacker hits, but at least his resist 3 from Iron Fist is an effect that takes place when he misses as well so he should be very resilient.

Anyway, I’m having a good time playing Naram, but am looking forward to see what Dark Sun D&D Encounters has to offer.

Until next time..

I’ve been playing in the D&D Encounters campaign for the past few weeks and have been having a really good time. We only play a single encounter each week so the time demands are limited and fit my schedule. Because renown points were awarded for using stuff out of the PH3, I decided to deter from my usual melee oriented class and play a Shardmind Psion named Naram. I did power game him a little bit though. Since we are only playing 12 encounters and won’t hit level 2 until about encounter 8, I maxed his primary stat at 20 (18 + 2 racial bonus) to get the extra +1 to-hit and damage. I also chose a feat that is slightly broken, at least it is in this particular circumstance since it gives +1 to-hit to all attacks versus Will and +2 psychic damage to any attack that has the Psychic keyword. All of Naram’s attacks are versus Will and have the Psychic keyword so he always gets both of those bonuses. I was also fortunate to win a level 2 magic item so he now has a Crystal Orb +1. Here is Naram as he currently is at level 1:

====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======

Naram, level 1, Shardmind, Psion (Discipline Focus: Telepathy Focus), Shardmind: History Bonus, Background: Akanûl, Shardmind - God Shard (Akanûl Benefit)
FINAL ABILITY SCORES - Str 8, Con 11, Dex 10, Int 20, Wis 10, Cha 16.
STARTING ABILITY SCORES - Str 8, Con 11, Dex 10, Int 18, Wis 10, Cha 14.
AC: 15 Fort: 10 Reflex: 15 Will: 15
HP: 23 Surges: 6 Surge Value: 5
TRAINED SKILLS - Intimidate +8, Perception +5, Insight +5, Diplomacy +8
UNTRAINED SKILLS - Acrobatics, Arcana +7, Bluff +3, Dungeoneering, Endurance +2, Heal, History +7, Nature, Religion +5, Stealth, Streetwise +3, Thievery, Athletics -1
FEATS - Psion: Ritual Caster, Level 1: Superior Implement Training (Crystal orb)
POWERS - Psion at-will 1: Dishearten, Psion at-will 1: Mind Thrust, Psion daily 1: Ravening Thought
ITEMS - Cloth Armor (Basic Clothing), Crystal orb of Resilient Tenacity +1, Dagger, Belt Pouch (empty), Climber’s Kit, Silk Rope (50 ft.) (2), Alchemical Reagents (Arcana) (30), Crystal orb, Backpack (empty), Ritual Book
RITUALS - Comprehend Language, Sending

We have completed 5 encounters so far and only have about 3 more to go until we hit 2nd level. I plan on taking the Shardmind Racial feat Psychic Focus then. That gives him a +2 feat bonus on psychic damage which, again, applies to all his attacks since they are all psychic. At 2nd level his basic ranged attack, Mind Thrust (Unaugmented), is +8 versus Will and 1d10+10 psychic damage. Not bad for a controller. Here is what I expect Naram to be at level2:

====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======

I only have two models for Malifaux so far since everyone in the world seems to want to play Viktorias right now so everyone is out of stock. However, I did pick up Hamelin the Ratcatcher and Misaki along with a bunch of the victorian bases and accessories. I really like the bases that Wyrd Miniatures has created for the game. They give the minis so much more character and are much easier to use than me trying to fumble my way through kit bashing my own. So here is the current pick for Hamelin along with an incomplete Misaki:

Also trying to get some completion on other models so I’m focusing on my partially complete Trollblood Impaler for Hordes:

Until next time…

Well, it’s actually April, but you get the idea. I really like the Trollbloods from Privateer Press and am having fun playing in the Nightfall Shattered Grounds league (even though I don’t expect to win). Now that the Avatar painting competition mini is completed and I am almost done with The Craghammers Blood Bowl team, I can start working on some big blue trolls.

A few trolls with warlock Grim Angus.

Slag Troll (my only completely painted troll so far)

The Dire Bunch (along with Dannon Blythe and Bull for size comparison)

Until next time:

Well, I did it. I actually painted a mini for the Avatar Comics and Games painting competition. Did not come out as well as I hoped, but nottoo bad. So here he is, the Ordo Malleus Inquisitor Lord with Psycannon:

Until next time…

A little more progress on painting my team and another sister kisser of a tie with Jeb’s Orcton Bashers (1-1) to move The Craghammers’ record to 3-2-3. Talk about mediocrity. But at least I made just enough gold from that game to hire the Deathroller. Hopefully he will help the dwarfs bashing in the second half of the season. Krazek also acquired teh Mighty Blow skill and Kili is now more accurate with his passes, even with the broken collarbone.

The Craghammers (currently on the team. Have the deathroller and 4 more blockers to paint and then any additional players added during the last few weeks.)

Fili and Kili, the Craghammers' runners (need to clean up their eyes a bit).

Until next time…

Although I don’t get to play as much as I would like, I do enjoy roleplaying games and have a small, but decent collection. I recently acquired several really good games produced by some of the lesser known publishers in the industry:

• 3:16 Carnage Amongst the Stars by Gregor Hutton - Space Marines meets Starship Troopers. What more could you want? A great beer & pretzels game.
• Atomic Highway by Colin Chapman - post-apocalyptic roleplaying at its finest.
• Donjon by Clinton R. Nixon - this one is in pdf format. Old school fantasy game with a twist, the players get to describe things based on how many success they get on a task.
• Grey Ranks by Bully Pulpit Games - take the role of a teen rebel in 1944 occupied Warsaw.
• Hot War by Contested Ground Studios - 1963 London where nukes have been used and nations have been researching occult technology.
• Spirit of the Century by Evil Hat Productions - 20’s era pulp action rpg.
• Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay by Fantasy Flight Games - not a small publisher, but a very good game. I like the mechanics better than D&D 4e.

These new games will go nicely with some of my older favorites in my collection:

• Aria, Canticle of the Monomyth by Last Unicorn Games - era-spanning fantasy roleplaying. Great for world building.
• Blue Planet by Fantasy Flight Games - waterworld sci-fi/cyberpunk.
• Burning Wheel by Luke Crane - excellent fantasy rpg with lifepath character creation and scripted combat exchanges.
• Cyberpunk by R. Talsorian Games - classic cyberpunk rpg.
• Dune by Last Unicorn Games/Wizards of the Coast - limited edition rpg set in Frank’s Herbert’s universe.
• Elfquest by Chaosium - fantasy rpg based on the graphic novels of Wendy Pini.
• Harn/Harnmaster by Columbia Games - “realistic” fantasy rpg.
• Millenium’s End by Chameleon Eclectic - modern day espionage/techno-thriller rpg.
• Mouse Guard RPG by Luke Crane & David Petersen - based on the Mouse Guard graphic novels using the Burning Wheel game mechanics.
• Top Secret by TSR - classic espionage game.
• Twilight:2000 by Game Designer’s Workshop - post apocalyptic rpg set in aftermath of WWIII. Also have the new Twlight:2013 version by 93 Games Studio.

Now if only I had the time and players to plays some of these, lol.

Until next time…

Well, a mixed bag for the past few games for The Craghammers. Their first match of week 3 was against Kanon’s Vampinators. Thanks to some extremely poor dice rolling on his part, The Craghammers were able to keep the game tied 1-1 and ended their casualty drought with two badly hurt thralls. The second game of the week was against Matt’s Orcy Bludd Bruddas. A tough match with two bashing teams, but the dwarfs eked out a win 2-1 (their first 2 TD game of the season) along with badly hurting two orcs and killing his lone lineorc.

Week 4 has not started out well however. In an effort to put some legitimacy on The Craghammers’ mediocre season they accepted a match against the first place Chosen Ones, Ned’s Lizardman team. With no expectations to win, the dwarfs did fairly well holding the slimy snakes to only two touchdowns, but near the end of the match several skinks and a saurus ganged up on Dwalin and ended his Blood Bowl career. He was posthumously honored with the MVP for the game.

The Craghammers: (front row L-R) Krazek the Mad, Durin, Thorin, Fili, Kili, Dwalin (deceased), (second row R-L) Balin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Dori II, and Crazy Ivan. The back row are not on the team yet, but they are Nori, Ori, Gloin, Oin, and the dreaded Deathroller.

The Craghammers' Blitzers (Durin and Thorin)

The Craghammers' Troll Slayers (Krazek the Mad and Crazy Ivan)

Until next time…