PDA

View Full Version : [4e] Vestiges!


Inyssius
03-23-2009, 06:08 AM
Sweet! (http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/4ex/20090323)

You start out with two vestiges; the ones in the book are Zutwa and King Elidyr. When you use a daily power, you bind the vestige associated with that daily power; the vestige you're using determines what your at-will power does, and what your pact boon is.

Damn it, why hasn't this book come out yet?

--wait. The Elidyr?

. . . At this time, King Elidyr, a wise and just monarch, ruled the lands of Nerath. When word reached him of the approaching storm, he gathered his glittering knights and allies to meet the demonic host. His forces, although numerous, could not compare to the ravenous beasts under Yeenoghu’s banners. Elidyr struck and fell back a dozen times, each loss finding his diminishing army deeper in his own lands, and the gnolls scouring the earth of castle, town, and city. His numerous forays bled the host, racking up appalling numbers of dead, but nothing Elidyr did could halt the tide’s progress.
. . . It wasn’t until the Battle of Nine Sons, when much of Nerath drowned in its own blood, that Elidyr finally triumphed over the invaders. He and his sons, each bold knights and great champions in their own right, formed a wedge and rode their magnificent charges through the unruly ranks, driving deep to reach its monstrous heart. As they rode, their armies hit the horde from both sides, sacrificing themselves for one final attempt to halt the enemy’s progress. Elidyr and his sons fought through the press, each taking grievous wounds and vanishing in the sea of blades, claws, and teeth, until only the king remained, dripping with the blood of his eldest and most beloved son. It was then that the White Ruin sought out this courageous warrior and challenged him to single conflict.
. . . For nine days and nights, while the armies fought around them, Elidyr and the White Ruin fought, hacking and chopping at each other, neither willing to surrender. On and on they battled until the dawn of the tenth day, when the roiling dark clouds broke and the light of the gods shone down upon the embattled forces. The White Ruin, unaccustomed to the wholesome power of the enraged gods, shielded his eyes, giving Elidyr the chance he needed to drive home his shining sword in the black heart of the terrible monster. Just as he struggled to withdraw the blade, the White Ruin loosed a tremendous screech and was pulled, along with the noble king, into the Abyss.
. . . The victory won at the cost of a king and his sons proved bitter, for the destruction the kingdom suffered was too much and its people were too scattered to rebuild. In time, Nerath crumbled like the gnoll host, until it too passed into history. Some whisper, though, that Elidyr is not dead and lives on, fighting Yeenoghu in the Abyss. They feel that one day he will defeat the Beast of Butchery and return to the mortal world, bringing with him a new age of justice and peace as he drives back the darkness overtaking the world.

Seroster
03-23-2009, 06:31 AM
So that gives us the reason for the fall of Nerath. Pretty cool.

Save-vs-DM
03-23-2009, 06:36 AM
Both of these vestiges are fucking Epic. And I like that it's finally a way to get a slightly more "good" Warlock.

Uqbarian
03-23-2009, 06:37 AM
--wait. The Elidyr?Apparently. Though that excerpt gives a different dating than Dragon 364.

Seroster
03-23-2009, 06:44 AM
Clueing in - this is the new pact for warlocks? Drawing energy from the spirits of these heroes? That's awesome.

Save-vs-DM
03-23-2009, 06:56 AM
Clueing in - this is the new pact for warlocks? Drawing energy from the spirits of these heroes? That's awesome.
Well, drawing power from the remnants of ancient...powers. The other sample Vestige was more or less like the Green Man.

Pete Whalley
03-23-2009, 07:29 AM
Mmm, nice.

I love the idea of Elidyr still kicking around trying to make up for his supposed failures. Plus, a chance for Warlocks to be more blatantly Big Damn Hero Good is a cool side treat.

Mostlyjoe
03-23-2009, 07:37 AM
This could introduce new background specific Vestige pacts.

darukaru
03-23-2009, 09:18 AM
The warlock as an arcane version of a stance/rage user is definitely a direction I hadn't seen them taking the class, and it seems like something that should have been there all along. Now if only they could do something about that silly attribute split.

rex monday
03-23-2009, 09:25 AM
You people are missing the most important point here.

Vestige Pact powers use Constitution! Fuck. Yes. I finally have more powers to choose from with my Infernal Warlock (if I don't just convert him to Vestige)


VVV Ooh, good point about the Star pact! VVV

Mostlyjoe
03-23-2009, 09:37 AM
Vestige Pact powers use Constitution! Fuck. Yes. I finally have more powers to choose from with my Infernal Warlock (if I don't just convert him to Vestige)

And the Starlocks of a different flavor have other tricks besides the CHA based "Wish upon a Star" Dragon Article.

Nahat Anoj
03-23-2009, 10:23 AM
The vestige pact is a pretty good one if you wanted to represent things like the Neverborn from Exalted. So now we can have dead primordials whispering secrets to our warlock PCs. :)

Nahat Anoj
03-23-2009, 10:29 AM
Reading how these powers work a bit more, I think it would be cool for all warlocks to have something resembling the various vestiges. That is, perhaps infernal locks have different devils, fey locks have different fey spirits, and star locks have different stars. Much like how a vestige pact warlock can switch out active vestiges and get different pact boons, maybe these other kinds of warlocks can switch out their devil/fey/star.

rex monday
03-23-2009, 11:14 AM
The vestige pact is a pretty good one if you wanted to represent things like the Neverborn from Exalted. So now we can have dead primordials whispering secrets to our warlock PCs. :)

Precisely my take on it. And since this is kinda how I pictured my Infernal Warlock already, it's why I was so hoping Vestige would be Con-based. For some reason the idea of changing out his powers and pact doesn't seem nearly as big a deal as rearranging his stats.

PlatinumWarlock
03-23-2009, 11:54 AM
Vestige Pact powers use Constitution! Fuck. Yes. I finally have more powers to choose from with my Infernal Warlock (if I don't just convert him to Vestige)

Agreed.

Now, my Dwarf Warlock build might stand a chance with something other than Infernal pact powers....yay for Variety!

And, for that matter, yay for supporting all the builds. For a while, I was thinking that Warlocks were very quickly going to become Cha- only casters...

Topher
03-23-2009, 12:27 PM
The warlock as an arcane version of a stance/rage user is definitely a direction I hadn't seen them taking the class, and it seems like something that should have been there all along.

Well, they've definitely had it in mind all along - the Vestige Pact is one of the pacts mentioned in the Races & Classes preview booklet. I wonder if they've been tweaking the mechanical design all this time, in response to actual Warlock play reports.

Topher

Ferrus Animus
03-23-2009, 12:51 PM
Imagine a descandant of Elidyr trying to channel him to rebuild Nerath.

domino
03-23-2009, 01:32 PM
I always like the idea of vestiges but not the mechanics of binders. I'm glad to see vestiges resurface in a new form.

Scholar and a Brutalman
03-23-2009, 05:54 PM
Reading how these powers work a bit more, I think it would be cool for all warlocks to have something resembling the various vestiges. That is, perhaps infernal locks have different devils, fey locks have different fey spirits, and star locks have different stars. Much like how a vestige pact warlock can switch out active vestiges and get different pact boons, maybe these other kinds of warlocks can switch out their devil/fey/star.

What I found interesting is that you could redefine the other 4 pacts as vestiges: have four 1st level vestiges for each of the other 4 pacts each modifying Eyes of the Vestige and giving the appropriate pact boon. The vestige mechanics can encompass all of rest.

OldKentuckyShark
03-23-2009, 06:00 PM
I like it.

That would make a useful mechanic for my idea of having a leather duster wearing, sledgehammer wielding, crime investigating Harry Dresden-esque "Namer" warlock, who draws arcane power from researching, memorizing, and intoning fragments of the True Names of powerful entities.