A few things:

There are few, if any, summoning spells in the Wizard power list. Clerics, on the other hand, have a number of prayers which let them summon astrtal beings and manifestations fo divine power in the form of spiritual warriors and/or weapons in their list. Generally speaking, they provide the Cleric with a conjuration which acts more like a puppet than a separate creature insofar as the cleric must spend his onw actions to move the conjuration.

Rituals all have a cost to cast listed in gp. The rituals section identifies this as an abstract representation of the cost of ritual materials needed to cast the ritual. Wizards, for example, are expected to carry a number of potions and components with them, but don't need to specify individual componants, just their total gp value. Casting a ritual uses unspecified components of a given value which are then deducted from the total value available to the wizard.

Utility powers, available to all classes, have a variety of combat and non-combat uses. Rogues, for example, have a number of utility powers which allow rerolls on social or other non-combat actions. Wizards also have a number of utility powers which might be useful in a fight but would be equally valuable in a non-combat situation (disguise self, featherfall, etc).

Quote from: TrevelyanA few things:

There are few, if any, summoning spells in the Wizard power list. Clerics, on the other hand, have a number of prayers which let them summon astrtal beings and manifestations fo divine power in the form of spiritual warriors and/or weapons in their list. Generally speaking, they provide the Cleric with a conjuration which acts more like a puppet than a separate creature insofar as the cleric must spend his onw actions to move the conjuration.

Rituals all have a cost to cast listed in gp. The rituals section identifies this as an abstract representation of the cost of ritual materials needed to cast the ritual. Wizards, for example, are expected to carry a number of potions and components with them, but don't need to specify individual componants, just their total gp value. Casting a ritual uses unspecified components of a given value which are then deducted from the total value available to the wizard.

Utility powers, available to all classes, have a variety of combat and non-combat uses. Rogues, for example, have a number of utility powers which allow rerolls on social or other non-combat actions. Wizards also have a number of utility powers which might be useful in a fight but would be equally valuable in a non-combat situation (disguise self, featherfall, etc).

Hmmm I don't like the GP cost. I hated tracking spell components as well though but abstracting to gp... I guess you do this my having a 'spell component bag' that has xxxxgp worth of components and when you cast you remove the specific value of this bag and you can't refill the bag unless you go to a spell component shop. This is okay in that you can't just restock from a box of gold you just found, but a bit crap in that you have to have spell component shops in all minor towns (game balance would dictate that if you didn't those that bought rituals woudl eb disadvantaged) and that feels a litte too MMORPG to me and no like I want to play. Also there isn't much cultural variation. That stone age tribe basically can't cast Knock because they don;t have 60gp worth of stuff .....
I am suprised they kept this as a gold sink as it doesn't look like it will be over balanced and I think dropping material components might have been a cleaner way to do it

Quote from: TrevelyanA few things:

There are few, if any, summoning spells in the Wizard power list. Clerics, on the other hand, have a number of prayers which let them summon astrtal beings and manifestations fo divine power in the form of spiritual warriors and/or weapons in their list. Generally speaking, they provide the Cleric with a conjuration which acts more like a puppet than a separate creature insofar as the cleric must spend his onw actions to move the conjuration.

Rituals all have a cost to cast listed in gp. The rituals section identifies this as an abstract representation of the cost of ritual materials needed to cast the ritual. Wizards, for example, are expected to carry a number of potions and components with them, but don't need to specify individual componants, just their total gp value. Casting a ritual uses unspecified components of a given value which are then deducted from the total value available to the wizard.

Utility powers, available to all classes, have a variety of combat and non-combat uses. Rogues, for example, have a number of utility powers which allow rerolls on social or other non-combat actions. Wizards also have a number of utility powers which might be useful in a fight but would be equally valuable in a non-combat situation (disguise self, featherfall, etc).

Hmmm I don't like the GP cost. I hated tracking spell components as well though but abstracting to gp... I guess you do this my having a 'spell component bag' that has xxxxgp worth of components and when you cast you remove the specific value of this bag and you can't refill the bag unless you go to a spell component shop. This is okay in that you can't just restock from a box of gold you just found, but a bit crap in that you have to have spell component shops in all minor towns (game balance would dictate that if you didn't those that bought rituals woudl eb disadvantaged) and that feels a litte too MMORPG to me and no like I want to play. Also there isn't much cultural variation. That stone age tribe basically can't cast Knock because they don;t have 60gp worth of stuff .....
I am suprised they kept this as a gold sink as it doesn't look like it will be over balanced and I think dropping material components might have been a cleaner way to do it

Quote from: James McMurrayWhat I've seen so far was worth my money at Amazon, so I'll have to respectfully disagree.

I think it looks neato. I had no interest in it until I read the... Well never mind. I'll be buying it. I wish i could my hands on a hard copy of it right now. This is the first time I've been really interested in D&D since about 1984.

Apologies to the original poster of this character on ENworld - but to illustrate how easy making new classes is in 4e - i present to you the Master Blacksmith (Epic) Level 21 character!

Quote from: AosI'll be buying it. I wish i could my hands on a hard copy of it right now. This is the first time I've been really interested in D&D since about 1984.

You damned fool.  Don't you realise this is exactly what they want you to do?!?

!i!

Quote from: One Horse Town...to illustrate how easy making new classes is in 4e - i present to you the Master Blacksmith (Epic) Level 21 character!

"Suddenly Storming Off In Artistic Rage" is a utility ability? "Flying Off The Handle"?

!i!

Quote from: Ian Absentia"Suddenly Storming Off In Artistic Rage" is a utility ability? "Flying Off The Handle"?

!i!

I'll post the character i based that off in a minute - it'll make more sense.

It's the only thing that i've got a niggle about with the new edition. Powers are all the same. Change a name here and a name there and you have a new class (in theory).

The original - once more with apologies to the original poster.

Quote from: HackmastergeneralWell, magic items are, ostensibly, for the players.

So it makes sense to have them in the PLAYERS Handbook.

The DMG is all about running the game, not things like PRCs and Magic Items, which are player-focused things.

Monsters are, ostensibly, for the players.

Why are they in a separate book?

Quote from: Ian AbsentiaYou damned fool.  Don't you realise this is exactly what they want you to do?!?

!i!

My God, man, you're right!

Quote from: StormBringerMonsters are, ostensibly, for the players.

Why are they in a separate book?

Monsters are for players to kill, after a fashion.  They are for players to interact with.  The DM plays them, and knowing all their abilities and mystique ruins the mystery.

Magic Items are for use and utility by the players.,

Beyond that, the PHB is already 320 pages, and dammit, you've gotta cut it off SOMEwhere.

Quote from: HackmastergeneralMonsters are for players to kill, after a fashion.

Are there rules for making friends with monsters?  Because, you know, as an American, life is all about Choice.

!i!

Quote from: Ian AbsentiaAre there rules for making friends with monsters?  Because, you know, as an American, life is all about Choice.

!i!

Its actually theoretically easier, after a fashion.  If the majority of intelligent monsters are "unaligned", then theres not going to be this "they are evil, kill them!" mentality, or it should be easier to counteract.  No "detect evil" to tell you who to kill or not.

And Diplomacy looks like it works pretty well after the 3.5 fiasco.

Quote from: Ian AbsentiaAre there rules for making friends with monsters?  Because, you know, as an American, life is all about Choice.

!i!

I usually only reserve this one for Old Geezer:

Commie.