Lay on hands: At will, once per day?!?

[Asmor]

This is something that's really confused me. Why the heck is the Paladin's Lay on Hands ability at will, when it can only be used once per day? Isn't that kind of the definition of a daily ability?

 

[Cirex]

It's a paladin feature usable Wis modifier amount of times a day.

Where does it say it's "at will"?

 

[Green Knight]

This is something that's really confused me. Why the heck is the Paladin's Lay on Hands ability at will, when it can only be used once per day? Isn't that kind of the definition of a daily ability?

Lay on Hands can be used a number of times per day equal to your Wisdom modifier. So if your Wisdom is 18, you can use it 4 times per day. It's listed as an At-Will power because you can use it whenever you like. If you wanted to, your Wis 18 Paladin could use it 4 times in a single Encounter.

 

[Gargazon]

It's usable a number of times equal to the Paladin's Wisdom modifier, and there's no limit to how often you can use it in one encounter, so it's an at-will power. It just has a certain number of uses per day.

 

[Asmor]

Ah, I see. I was confused because the in the scans for Keep on the Shadowfell, they just say that it's usable once per day (the paladin has a +1 wis modifier)

 

[Stalker0]

Yeah, its a bit weird that lay on hands is now based on wisdom, since its traditionally been charisma based. But its probably a balancing factor, its a very powerful ability. In my playtest, one of the guys ran the halfing paladin with a magic shield and armor (I allowed some magic items to try out). We called him the steel acorn, he could take damage all day with his high AC and his ability to heal himself with lay on hands.

 

[Green Knight]

Yeah, its a bit weird that lay on hands is now based on wisdom, since its traditionally been charisma based. But its probably a balancing factor, its a very powerful ability. In my playtest, one of the guys ran the halfing paladin with a magic shield and armor (I allowed some magic items to try out). We called him the steel acorn, he could take damage all day with his high AC and his ability to heal himself with lay on hands.

The damage from Holy Strike and Radiant Strike also appears to be tied to Wisdom. I was hoping to see the Paladin's MAD getting reduced, but they probably wanted Paladins to still have a use for Wis. Still, I'm not to keen on still having to rely on three stats at least (Str, Wis, and Cha).

Incidentally, that Healing Hands Feat (which gives you a bonus to the Healing Surges from Lay on Hands equal to your Charisma modifier) is pretty nice. I can definitely see myself taking that feat.

 

[keterys]

I thought Healing Hands was the 'class choice' for the paladin, rather than a feat? Ie, like how rogue's are artful dodgers (+cha vs opportunity attacks) or brutal scoundrels (+str on sneak attack).

 

[Felon]

Ah, I see. I was confused because the in the scans for Keep on the Shadowfell, they just say that it's usable once per day (the paladin has a +1 wis modifier)

Being confused by confusing things is simply sensible behavior.

 

[malraux]

The damage from Holy Strike and Radiant Strike also appears to be tied to Wisdom. I was hoping to see the Paladin's MAD getting reduced, but they probably wanted Paladins to still have a use for Wis. Still, I'm not to keen on still having to rely on three stats at least (Str, Wis, and Cha).

We'll probably know more once we see the core books, but likely the Paladin will have a prime stat (probably Cha), and then the option of picking either Str or Wis as his second stat, and then focusing his class feature to mix well with that. And really MAD is only a problem if only a few classes have it. 4e seems to make all classes benefit from having 3 good stats.