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.

————————————————-

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.

————————————————-

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.

————————————————-

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.

————————————————-

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..