Nibelung
First Post
Originally posted by zelink551:
This thread is intended to being the successor the LDBs handbook, it will borrow (read: steal), from his heavily, but incorporating new content, errata, my opinion here and there, as well as others. I welcome commentary and critism, as well as builds that people wish to be included.
note, this will be slow. With work+school I don't have a ton of time, so patience will be appreciated
The Warlord, Or How to Wield A Barbarian One-Handed
Selling Points: Why You Would Want To Play A Warlord
There are plenty of Leader classes out there right now, so I can't blame you if you have doubts as to whether you'd like to play a Warlord. I think the following points will help you decide:
Warlords are aggressive Leaders - None of that "hide behind the Defender and heal" business applies to this class; you lead by example, which may appeal to some of you who are unwilling to sacrifice the thrill of being effective by yourself to support the rest of the party.
Warlords are great enablers - If you thought your allies were awesome by themselves, just wait until you work your craft. With a wide array of abilities letting allies do things better, or even things they couldn't do, you are the master of keeping your party running smoothly.
Warlords are great team players - A lot of what you do hinges on your allies, so you are one of the ultimate team playing classes in the game right now. If you like concocting combinations and strategies to maximize what your party can do, this is likely the class for you.
This Handbook will use the following system for ratings:
Red: Garbage, or completely overshadowed by another option.
Purple: Situationally useful, but overall pretty meh.
Black: OK. You could do worse than pick this.
Blue: Good stuff. You probably want this.
Sky Blue: You want this. Period.
Gold: Why haven't you taken this yet? A defining choice for a build, or even the whole class.
This Handbook covers the following sources:
AP - Arcane Power
AV - Adventurer's Vault
AV 2 - Adventurer's Vault 2
D XXX - Dragon Magazine, issue XXX
DMA 2009 - Dragon Magazine Annual 2009
DP - Divine Power
DSCS - Dark Sun Campaign Setting
DSH - Dungeon Survival Handbook
FRPG - Forgotten Realms Player's Guide
HoS - Heroes of Shadow
HotEC
- Heroes of the Elemental Chaos
HotF - Heroes of the Feywild
HotFK - Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms
HotFL - Heroes of the Fallen Lands
MM - Monster Manual
NWCS - Neverwinter Campaign Series
MM 2 - Monster Manual 2
MOTP - Manual of the Planes
MP - Martial Power
MP 2 - Martial Power 2
PHB - Player's Handbook
PHB 2 - Player's Handbook 2
PHB 3 - Player's Handbook 3
PHH 1 - Player's Handbook Heroes: Series 1
PHH 2 - Player's Handbook Heroes: Series 2
PHR: DB - Player's Handbook Races: Dragonborn
PHR: TF - Player's Handbook Races: Tieflings
PrP - Primal Power
Glossary
[sblock]
AP - Action point.
BBEG - Big bad evil guy.
Bravelord - Refers to a Warlord with the Bravura Presence class feature.
Burst/Nova/Spike Damage - Generally understood to mean the highest amount of damage a character can inflict in the space of a single round. Usually, calculations for this allow 1 round of setup before the actual damage.
CA - Combat advantage.
DPR - Damage per round, which is generally meant to mean the character's expected damage value using At-Will powers against a standard enemy of the same level (eloquently described by Adslahnit as the Official CharOp Inanimate Block of TofuTM).
ED - Epic destiny.
HP - Hit points.
Lazylord - Refers to a build of Warlord that avoids attacking directly, instead taking powers that enable his allies to attack.
LX - Level X.
MAD - Multiple attribute dependency, which is defined as needing 3 or more ability scores for a given build.
MBA - Melee basic attack.
MC - Multiclass or multiclassing.
NAD - Non-AC defense.
OA - Opportunity attack.
PP - Paragon path.
RBA - Ranged basic attack.
Reslord - Refers to a Warlord with the Resourceful Presence class feature.
SAD - Single attribute dependency, which is defined as a build that really only needs 1 ability score.
Taclord - Refers to a Warlord with the Tactical Presence class feature.
THP - Temporary hit points.
[/sblock]
References
[sblock]
Bravura Warlord Mini-Guide, by Elder_basilisk
Eladrin Polearm Tactical Warlord, by Ambiguous
Genasi Novalord, by Lordduskblade
Identity of a Hero: A Guide to Themes, by Lord_Ventnor
Into the Breach: A Warlord Handbook, by Armisael
Stormbringer, by Lordduskblade
The Warlord's Handbook, by sCRuLooSe
Chasing Glory: The Warlord's Handbook(x), by Lordduskblade
The Basic Attack Handbook(x), by Fardiz
[/sblock]
Props to:
RuinsFate-for the name
Cazzeo-for the rocks
Fardiz- for the aid with basic attacks
Lordduskblade - He wrote the precursor to this guide, much of which I simply stole from him, and its his wisdom on this class that taught me so well. If I can take any credit, most goes to him.
This thread is intended to being the successor the LDBs handbook, it will borrow (read: steal), from his heavily, but incorporating new content, errata, my opinion here and there, as well as others. I welcome commentary and critism, as well as builds that people wish to be included.
note, this will be slow. With work+school I don't have a ton of time, so patience will be appreciated
The Warlord, Or How to Wield A Barbarian One-Handed
Bards are men in fancy pants. Artificers tinker with obscure magic. Clerics love their gods too much. Warpriests are the same. Shamans hug too many trees. You? You lead the fight, you lead your allies to the fray, onward to glory, to honor, and to the thrill of the kill. Welcome, Warlords, the fight is yours.
Selling Points: Why You Would Want To Play A Warlord
There are plenty of Leader classes out there right now, so I can't blame you if you have doubts as to whether you'd like to play a Warlord. I think the following points will help you decide:
Warlords are aggressive Leaders - None of that "hide behind the Defender and heal" business applies to this class; you lead by example, which may appeal to some of you who are unwilling to sacrifice the thrill of being effective by yourself to support the rest of the party.
Warlords are great enablers - If you thought your allies were awesome by themselves, just wait until you work your craft. With a wide array of abilities letting allies do things better, or even things they couldn't do, you are the master of keeping your party running smoothly.
Warlords are great team players - A lot of what you do hinges on your allies, so you are one of the ultimate team playing classes in the game right now. If you like concocting combinations and strategies to maximize what your party can do, this is likely the class for you.
This Handbook will use the following system for ratings:
Red: Garbage, or completely overshadowed by another option.
Purple: Situationally useful, but overall pretty meh.
Black: OK. You could do worse than pick this.
Blue: Good stuff. You probably want this.
Sky Blue: You want this. Period.
Gold: Why haven't you taken this yet? A defining choice for a build, or even the whole class.
This Handbook covers the following sources:
AP - Arcane Power
AV - Adventurer's Vault
AV 2 - Adventurer's Vault 2
D XXX - Dragon Magazine, issue XXX
DMA 2009 - Dragon Magazine Annual 2009
DP - Divine Power
DSCS - Dark Sun Campaign Setting
DSH - Dungeon Survival Handbook
FRPG - Forgotten Realms Player's Guide
HoS - Heroes of Shadow
HotEC
- Heroes of the Elemental Chaos
HotF - Heroes of the Feywild
HotFK - Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms
HotFL - Heroes of the Fallen Lands
MM - Monster Manual
NWCS - Neverwinter Campaign Series
MM 2 - Monster Manual 2
MOTP - Manual of the Planes
MP - Martial Power
MP 2 - Martial Power 2
PHB - Player's Handbook
PHB 2 - Player's Handbook 2
PHB 3 - Player's Handbook 3
PHH 1 - Player's Handbook Heroes: Series 1
PHH 2 - Player's Handbook Heroes: Series 2
PHR: DB - Player's Handbook Races: Dragonborn
PHR: TF - Player's Handbook Races: Tieflings
PrP - Primal Power
Glossary
[sblock]
AP - Action point.
BBEG - Big bad evil guy.
Bravelord - Refers to a Warlord with the Bravura Presence class feature.
Burst/Nova/Spike Damage - Generally understood to mean the highest amount of damage a character can inflict in the space of a single round. Usually, calculations for this allow 1 round of setup before the actual damage.
CA - Combat advantage.
DPR - Damage per round, which is generally meant to mean the character's expected damage value using At-Will powers against a standard enemy of the same level (eloquently described by Adslahnit as the Official CharOp Inanimate Block of TofuTM).
ED - Epic destiny.
HP - Hit points.
Lazylord - Refers to a build of Warlord that avoids attacking directly, instead taking powers that enable his allies to attack.
LX - Level X.
MAD - Multiple attribute dependency, which is defined as needing 3 or more ability scores for a given build.
MBA - Melee basic attack.
MC - Multiclass or multiclassing.
NAD - Non-AC defense.
OA - Opportunity attack.
PP - Paragon path.
RBA - Ranged basic attack.
Reslord - Refers to a Warlord with the Resourceful Presence class feature.
SAD - Single attribute dependency, which is defined as a build that really only needs 1 ability score.
Taclord - Refers to a Warlord with the Tactical Presence class feature.
THP - Temporary hit points.
[/sblock]
References
[sblock]
Bravura Warlord Mini-Guide, by Elder_basilisk
Eladrin Polearm Tactical Warlord, by Ambiguous
Genasi Novalord, by Lordduskblade
Identity of a Hero: A Guide to Themes, by Lord_Ventnor
Into the Breach: A Warlord Handbook, by Armisael
Stormbringer, by Lordduskblade
The Warlord's Handbook, by sCRuLooSe
Chasing Glory: The Warlord's Handbook(x), by Lordduskblade
The Basic Attack Handbook(x), by Fardiz
[/sblock]
Props to:
RuinsFate-for the name
Cazzeo-for the rocks
Fardiz- for the aid with basic attacks
Lordduskblade - He wrote the precursor to this guide, much of which I simply stole from him, and its his wisdom on this class that taught me so well. If I can take any credit, most goes to him.