Gith-sera-sera

Just finished reading over the preview of the next "new" race to be a part of the PHB3. The Githzerai.

Due to my hatred of the sci-fi peg of psionics in the round hole of fantasy dnd, I never was much of a fan of the Gith. They were like Drow. Fun to fight as antagonists but I had zero interest in every making one into a hero.

They do have an interesting backstory though. Enslaved until they fought their way to freedom. It's a story that's pretty cliche but it still holds power and speaks to me in a way. Probably because I, like most everyone, love a good underdog. On the downside the whole githzerai/githyanki split is too close the whole elves/drow split. You can use the cliche WotC, but please, give it a new twist.

As for their powers, well, I like them. In general they reflect the new slant on psionics quite nicely and are definitely very useful (unlike the Dragonborn's lame breath "weapon"). If anything they might be a little too good. Getting a free shift of up to 3 squares is a super boon when using a second wind. Not only do you get HP back, but you also get to put some space between yourself and who or whatever was whaling on you. Iron Mind is also a tad strong, giving a short lived +2 bonus to all defenses. Compare that to the wizard's Shield utility spell. Both are Encounter powers and Shield gives a +4 bonus to defenses but the Iron Mind doesn't take up a power slot. Also, Iron Mind can be boosted to +4 and give damage resist with a couple of Epic Tier feats.

The Paragon path isn't bad but not especially gripping either. Much like any Paragon path I suppose. A couple of bonuses and a fancy title. Meh.

Their racial feats are nice. Again much like any feat they give some bonuses but their nothing to get excited about. My favorite is probably Iron Resolve of Zerthadlun because it gives the player a potentially difficult choice. Do you hold on to that last psionic power point for a +2 to saving throws, or spend it and hope you don't roll an 8 or 9 on your next save? I love that kind of decision and find that it's sorely missing in 4E.

A comment by Robert J. Schwalb, in regards to the racial feats got me to thinking. He said that, "Githzerai feats reinforce and expand the race's existing themes and mechanics." I can't argue with that, although I might quibble over the "expand" portion. The thing that occurred to me is that this is the big difference in feats in 4E as compared to 3.5.

In 3.5 feats were arguably the thing that defined one's character. Four fighters could be wildly different from one another based solely on the feats selected. In 4E feats have been relegated to small boosts to existing powers. One method was wildly liberating while the other almost forces feat selection to min/max. A number of 4E feats might sound good, or make for interesting character development, but if they don't synergize with your powers they're kinda wasted.

Anyways, back on track, I liked the Githzerai overll. I probably won't ever play a Gith character, but they're at least somewhat interesting now. Some nice powers. A few interesting feats. Good backstory. Really, what more could I ask for from any race?

Heals for everyone! Huzzah!

Just read over the free pdf on the 4e version of the cleric that was offered by WotC recently.

No real meat to it (ie, no stat blocks or tables, just vague essays) but it was enough to send Crwth and myself into panic mode. Maybe not "panic" mode, but some kind of mode for sure.

The one thing that struck me, and surprise surprise, ticked me off was that every class will get some limited self healing. The logic behind this new mechanic is apparently to free up the cleric to do other things.

Now, I've only really played one cleric and he was a reluctant healer at best, so for me "giving up a round" wasn't a big deal. I can however understand that players who run a cleric might resent doing nothing but cast healing spells round after round. It's the same thing with the Bard, where the first round or two is invariably "wasted" on casting buffs and singing.

Um, if you resent "wasting" actions on buffing and healing, then why the fuck are you playing a cleric or a bard? Are you fucking retarded?

In the PHB there are 11 core classes. The PHB2 has another half dozen or so. The Completes and other add on books throw even more classes into the pool. Surely amongst all that chum in the water players can find something that fits their play style and their idea of fun.

Personally, I'm in the "I hate wasting actions on healing chumps who shouldn't have gotten so badly hurt in the first place" boat. So I choose my classes accordingly. Luckily the others in our group seem to like being the support classes for my stealthy warriors and sorcerous blasters. Maybe I'm just lucky.

Still, if you're in a group where no one ever wants to play a cleric. A group full of Griffs for example (you lucky bastard, to be surrounded by such handsome and witty friends). Well, here's an idea. Play without one!

I know. I know. Years of MMORPGs and computer games have conditioned us into the false belief that no cleric = TPK. But guess what? DnD is not a MMO or video game.

At least it wasn't before 4th edition.