4e Strategy: Character Roles.

[nubz]

This will be a general introduction to the new definition of Roles, as they relate to the 4e style of play. I will draw largely from my experience in other games, ranging from previous editions of D&D to computer games to other traditional pen&paper games and even card-based games (munchkin, Magic, etc).

To give an overview of what this thread will touch on, I am referring to the Defender, Leader, Controller, Striker designations which have replaced the classic titles of Fighter, Cleric, Mage, Thief. I will not, initially, talk about Sub-Roles as they were introduced in PH2 since that refers to preference and definitive selections you (the player) make. Besides, just look at what is listed in the four categories and take what you like out of the alternates.

[nubz]

DEFENDER: The first line of defense.

Introduced in this version, which needs to be the first point, is "Marking" an enemy. Defender classes have an ability to 'mark' opponents, which comes in different ways and allows for varied special abilities dependant on the class, but leads ultimately to the same thing. A 'marked' enemy takes a -2 penalty to any attack that does not include the Defender as a target. In other terms, the Defender places himself front and center on the battlefield and refuses to be ignored.

This leads to one of two things - either you protect your allies by making it harder for the enemy to hit them, or (likely) you take a lot more punishment. I will try to touch on a few things that I have found to help from personal experience, backing them up with the theory and rules which make such claims credible.

First off, who do you mark? There are two parts to this... Whereas you want to hamper the biggest and baddest confronting you, teamwork overcomes everything. Decide amongst all involved who your primary target is, whether you will focus on the toughest immediately or knock off a few of the weaker looking enemies thus singling out the more brutal adversary. Touching on my computer gaming experience, the 'initiator' role is a tanky sort of hero who takes the first barrage so the others can get into strategical positions and bring their specialties to bear. An example of this is setting up flanking opportunities for your Rogue {Striker} to Sneak Attack, or occasionally just to get swarmed so your Mage {Controller} can use an Area of Effect power to target multiple enemies at once. Most importantly here, you need to be sure to mark an enemy to dissuade them from countering against your allies. Use terrain to your advantage, so you are standing between your adversaries and allies when possible, as the simplest course of action. To further get an idea for marking, please refer to the Player's Handbook. Assuming you have read what is available, ask and I shall try and explain it in more detail where necessary.

[to be continued].

[nubz]

Defender (continued):

To get a better idea for the Defender and his specialty, one may look at his nicknames. Initiator, Tank, Meatshield, the Anvil... each has its intricacies.

The initiator is the Leeroy Jenkins of combat. Charge in, get everyone's attention, and get the ball rolling. There are pros and cons of this tactic, and each must be weighed accordingly. On one hand, it is the least tactical of plans - leaving your allies to piece together a strategy as things unfold. On the other, it is the most versatile of plans - give your allies a chance to position themselves as they see fit, while the element of surprise keeps the enemies from doing the same.

A tank is your traditional knight in shining armour. The idea is twofold, where you are both tough as nails and hard to hit. High defenses (such as your classic +5 Full Plate) combined with a supernatural amount of hitpoints (Constitution, anyone?) means you can stand waist-deep in the worst of it and be as calm as a Hindu cow.

The Anvil is a slightly more tactical Defender, placing himself strategically and working closely with a Striker like the Rogue. Setting flanks, holding chokepoints, guarding doorways; more emphasis is on the craft than merely the sharpness of sword and axe. As the name suggests, you still get hit a lot, but are made to deal with it.

Depending how you do it, feat and power selection will vary accordingly. Tanks will get anything with a defense bonus or the 'healing' keyword, with additional thought towards saving throws. Initiators go for obvious combinations like Improved Initiative, Fast Runner, and Powerful Charge along with say... an encounter power that can be used at the end of a charge. The anvil will sit and pore over combos with his allies, while the Meatshield gets really creative with multiple-opponent attacks to mark many foes and utility powers which force enemies to change the target of their attacks.

[nubz]

Leader:

This key role is based on being the unsung hero. For the most part, this has to do with offering your allies healing surges and saving throws when they need them most. Many who are familiar with the Cleric from previous versions would recall the term 'Band-Aid', but pseudonyms like Booster and Buffer amount to the same thing.

Many powers will grant something, be it a save, an attack, healing throw, or a bonus to *fill in the blank*. Boosted defenses, bonus to their next attack (sometimes to hit, maybe damage), et cetera. Key here is to know your allies' capabilities... which ones hit the hardest, who is about to use their highest level daily power, how many hitpoints they have, what attacks target which defenses - things like that.

More often than not, this is the role for a certain type of player. First off, they are usually the most experienced roleplayer in a group, understanding the rules of the game well enough to manipulate them for everyone's best interests. Also, these are the sort of players who take delight in poring over the books and figuring out the intricacies of each spell or ability, scheming up ways in which they could be implemented.

A great example of this was when the Warlord of our group realized he had a power that caused damage to enemies any time they moved (even forced movement) and said 'if only someone had a push power to go with your pull attack' and then people checked and realized we had exactly what was necessary to push, pull, and push again in the same round.

There is no single Leader build that is better than the rest, as the role is based around either covering weaknesses or harnessing strengths as the situation demands.

[nubz]

Leader (cont'd):

In many ways, the leader understands that to be great, you most definitely need to work as a team. Each person is capable in their own rights, but the Leader acts as the framework to combine the separate pieces into a larger unit. Knowing the potential of each key player is only half of it - finding ways for them to achieve more is what matters.

I'll continue this again, but something just came up and I don't want to lose the train of thought.

[DungeonMaster]

Just a thought about strategy...
My group's strategy is pretty much always the same an nobody has ever died on our group's watch.
We play with 4 people, and almost every time, we have two strikers, a leader, and a defender.
Usually it ends up rogue rogue healer-type fighter-type.
We usually leave the fighter and the cleric together in the back, advancing slowly, while the rogues sneak up on our enemies. Then, one rogue prepares an action for when the other one moves and when the other one strikes. They move in together on the biggest ugliest thing in the group of baddies, and the one without a prepared attack initiates combat. One gets a first strike sneak attack, the other rogue gets a flanking sneak attack, and then initiative is rolled. Usually, they both get their sneak attacks again, and can shift out of reach of the baddie before its initiative comes up. Then the fighter charges and marks the enemy, usually with some attack like shield bash or something... it's rather effective, and usually we take minimal damage as long as both rogues use their acrobatics thoughout combat and the fighter doesn't forget to mark his foes.

A Side note... DON'T FORGET TO USE YOUR UTILITY POWERS! They are absolutely essential.

There's my piece. Take it or leave it.

[nubz]

It would seem to me that your DM does not have much use for minions, then. Something I learned long ago - to increase the technical difficulty of a battle without much extra chance of outright killing the party, it is easy to add a few enemies whose entire role is to cause havoc and force the use of AoE or splitting attacks.

Great tactic, though... nice use of concentrated firepower!