Spear Fighter Questions

[Majoru Oakheart]

I have a couple of questions about my character.

He is a Fighter who has Polearm Momentum(Martial Power), Polearm Gamble(Player's Handbook), Swift Spear(Dragon Magazine 378), Forceful Opportunist(Dragon Magazine 379), and has taken Polearm Master(Martial Power) as his Paragon Path. He wields a Greatspear.

The Polearm Master has the following level 11 class feature:

Forceful Reach (11th level): If you use a reach weapon to deliver a weapon power that pushes, pulls, or slides a target, you increase the distance of the forced movement by 1 square.

I have a couple of questions:

1. When someone moves adjacent to me from non-adjacent that triggers an Opportunity Attack. Does shifting from a non-adjacent square to an adjacent square trigger the same opportunity?

2. When someone provokes the Opportunity Attack from Polearm Gamble does my Combat Superiority class figure trigger, thereby stopping their movement before they can get adjacent to me(leaving them 2 squares away from me with their movement ended)?

3. When I hit with an Opportunity Attack via Polearm Gamble, I am able to slide the target 1 square to a space adjacent to me and I am also able to push them 1 square and shift into the square they vacated(due to Swift Spear and Forceful Opportunist.

a) Does the Forceful Reach class feature add to the pushes and slides provided by these two feats?

b) If a) is true, does Polearm Momentum cause the target to be knocked prone when I use either of these feats to push or slide 2 squares?

c) Do both the feats trigger on the same hit(i.e. can I slide the target 2 squares to a space adjacent to me and THEN push them 2 squares and shift into the vacated square)?

d) If c) is true, which order do I resolve them in? Can I choose?

4. The Polearm Master gives a Daily Utility at level 12 called Reaching Stance which says: "Effect: Until the stance ends, you can make opportunity attacks against enemies within your weapon's reach." Does this allow me to take Opportunity Attacks against targets who leave a space 2 squares away from me or does it simply let me attack people who use ranged attacks 2 squares away from me?

5. I've had two different DM friends of mine tell me that this combination is horribly broken and they refuse to DM if I bring this character to the table(it's a Living Forgotten Realms character). What does everyone else think?

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

1) Yes, polearm gamble says "enters a square" which will happen regardless of how they got there as long as they weren't adjacent before.

2) Yes, Combat Superiority applies to ALL OAs and Polearm Gamble does grant an OA. You get a +WIS bonus to the attack and the enemy stops moving if you hit.

3a) I don't see why not.

3b) Yes

3c-d) This is open to interpretation. The rules don't really specify an order for these kinds of events. It is pretty common to allow players to resolve them in whatever order they like. In that case I believe you could both slide and then push + shift.

4) This has been argued about a lot. The most literal reading is just that you have the potential to make OAs but the power doesn't explicitly give you a trigger for OAs beyond what you normally have. This would mean movement that doesn't involve leaving an adjacent square wouldn't provoke. Other people have interpreted this power (and other similar stuff) to mean that the character has effectively Threatening Reach. Personally I say the stricter interpretation is correct since there are other instances where TR is explicitly granted, which it isn't here.

5) Basically what you have is the old 'Great Fisherman' build. There are actually some other ways to make it even MORE effective. A grasping weapon for instance might be handy. There is some footgear that would be handy as well. Using a glaive and HBO is another possibility. In other words you aren't even the most tricked out version of this build that is possible. Personally I'd be fine with it. You have a really potent build, any monster that gets within 2 squares of you is unlikely to ever get away. OTOH it is a bit of a niche build. Another mitigating factor is the way aura damage now stacks. A DM could really make your day miserable with a couple monsters with nasty auras. You can suck them in all right, but that might not go well for you. Obviously any set of monsters and/or terrain/traps/hazards that can bog you down and pound on you at range is going to be rough as well. I'd say DMs that are frustrated by your build are either lazy, unimaginative, or not very experienced/talented with 4e combat.

It is a nice character build. I've always liked this type of concept. It is nicely effective without being yet another DPR monster.

 

[chitzk0i]

Be sure to add in the "spear melee basics are vs reflex" feat for auto-hitting fun. I've played this combo in LFR and it's not quite all its cracked up to be. If you could coordinate with your allies to ensure that enemies must go through you, then the non-reach enemies are screwed by your impenetrable force field. However, you're using a two-handed weapon so your ac is mediocre and your other defenses are going to be mediocre on general principal.

The part I didn't anticipate is that I played it all weekend at a con and only one person wondered how I could do it all!

 

[Mad Hamish]

Be sure to add in the "spear melee basics are vs reflex" feat for auto-hitting fun. I've played this combo in LFR and it's not quite all its cracked up to be. If you could coordinate with your allies to ensure that enemies must go through you, then the non-reach enemies are screwed by your impenetrable force field. However, you're using a two-handed weapon so your ac is mediocre and your other defenses are going to be mediocre on general principal.

The part I didn't anticipate is that I played it all weekend at a con and only one person wondered how I could do it all!

hafted defence helps shore up the AC.
You'll probably be str and either dex or wis so you'll be getting either good fort and will or good fort and reflex

 

[chitzk0i]

hafted defence helps shore up the AC.
You'll probably be str and either dex or wis so you'll be getting either good fort and will or good fort and reflex

This is a very feat-intensive build, so if you can slip it in, then go for it. I wound up taking scale armor expertise for the extra speed.

True, your fort will be higher than your reflex or will, but monsters will still be pretty easy for monsters to hit and I have a hard time calling that 'good'.