[4E] Stripped down (generic?) Powers and Feats

[Shiva Nataraj]

I'm wondering if this has been done before; if so, please link; if not, please participate.

If we stripped down all Powers and Feats to their basic effects and type of action, what would we end up with?

For example, arcane (or divine) attack Powers seem to be a two basic types: single opponent (bolt, missile) and multiple opponents (blast, spray). Are there others?

What I'm looking for is a quick-and-easy freeform system where you combine type with level and come up with damage and other effects; something similar to Ars Magica or Talislanta, in other words. The 4ED system seems like it would handle this quite well (and, my guess is, was designed around such a structure; we just don't get to see the "bones").

So, for example, you could have something like this:

Power Source (Arcane, Divine, Martial, Primal, Shadow, etc)
Power Type (attack, defense, utility of different kinds, rituals, etc)
Power Level (1-30)

Have at it.

[Jared Hayter]

The effects below applied in various combinations would seem to cover a lot of what powers do:
Move
Buff
Debuff
Grant attack
Increase damage
Target type (self, ally, enemy)

[Vargo Teras]

The effects below applied in various combinations would seem to cover a lot of what powers do:
Move
Buff
Debuff
Grant attack
Increase damage
Target type (self, ally, enemy)
Ah, but the question is, how much does a given modified effect cost?

For example, we can look at Eldritch Blast and Acid Orb as a baseline for ranged implement attacks: a basic ranged attack does 1d10 damage at range 10. If you increase the range to 20, a la Magic Missile, you lose 0.5 average damage. If you add a push 1, a la Dragonfrost, that costs 1.0 average damage.

Similarly, we can look at area effect spells; an area burst 1 should normally do 1d6+Mod damage (Flame Burst), but tacking a slow effect on costs that 1d6 (Grasping Shards), and a slide 1 instead costs Mod (Chill Wind).

[Scarik]

I have a list of the effects broken down on my old PC. Once I finish transfering files I'll post it here.

The short form is I assumed that an implement power deals 1d6 damage base, hs range 5 or melee and comes with 2 riders (3 for controllers). Each rider has a cost of 1 or 2 for the at-wills.

The formula breaks down a bit given that Sorcerers get a 1d8 blast 3 which is equal to thunderwave in my system.

[Shiva Nataraj]

I completely forgot I posted this. Any other thoughts?

[Juriel]

I'm still working on my own solution for this. But I don't have anything concrete yet, without running some solo playtests to test the ideas.

My problem is that the PCs have a list of 20+ powers when they hit paragon, and that's just way too much to track and choose from. Instead, I want to give people just a couple of personal powers that really crystallize what their style is like - these would be the canon powers. You know they're gonna whip it out, it's just a question of when.

Then, I'm going to give people a pool of Action Points for each combat that they can use to add effects to their attacks. Improvising on the fly, which is what you are after. I don't want there to be an actual individual list of effects, so I'd need a few rough guidelines that are easy to remember yet still somehow retain the class emphasis (so no ranged area bursts for Fighter).

I do this all to speed up their decision-making process (fewer choices) and facilitate stunting better. They can declare 'I kick the table onto them - that's a basic attack + three targets + prone on top of damage' and spend 2 AP for those effects. Or for the Wizard to realize that this is the one instance where Slow would be useful, and so he goes 'I bind the boar's feet in ice, so basic attack + slow', without needing to always have a Slow power ready for the rare instance where it does something.

And so on. I'll post something if I get something I'm happy with.

[Jared Hayter]

If your goal is to replace the power system entirely for both PCs and monsters then it doesn't need to be particularly compatible with the existing system. Let's say that everyone gets points equal to their level to spend on effects each encounter. Each power point buys you one of the following effects:

- One extra damage die
- One extra target
- One square of movement
- One ongoing condition
- One healing surge
etc.

So if my ranger wants deliver a single devastating vital shot against a solo one round he might spend two points to bump his damage up to 3[w] or he could spend the same two points to rapid shot against three minions.

I don't own 4e so I don't really know what I'm talking about, but I've read a lot of the excerpt material on the wizards site. I like the idea behind a generic power system for D&D but I don't like the spell list approach that 4e has taken.