4E EPIC DESTINIES FULL
4E EPIC DESTINIES SERIES

It's act 3, where you finish out your story with a bang and become a legend. Epic tier's easy: You take on the powerful forces that control the world. Why is this Paragon?: Let's start off with what I consider the biggest sticking point for paragon paths (and the paragon tier as a whole, for that matter): What 'paragon tier' means isn't clearly defined, or at least wasn't clear in our minds when we were designing the paragon paths system.I'm listing these again so we can contrast what paragon paths do in these areas. They were epic feel, big impact with few additions, and broad acquisition possibilities. Note: In my article on epic destinies, I described three 'successes' for them.

I prefer ones that give you something extra when you spend an AP rather than give you a different benefit instead of your extra action. Boosts Your Action Points: It's nice to have a default part of the game that makes your action points better.This was a later development, but racial paths, channel divinity paths, and the like let you get more mileage out of those mechanics. Races and other smaller mechanics have less potential to define your character, but paragon paths that grow out of them help out some. Expands Races and Other Marginal Mechanics: There are plenty of ways to build and bend your character's class abilities, from powers to magic items to feats.Later, I'll describe how many paths just don't. I like these paths because they feel organic. Wild mage gives your already random sorcerer a bigger batch of random mechanics. Since the paladin has options for healing, you can pick a bunch of healing powers before grabbing hospitaler, making it a continuation of your existing theme. Examples include the hospitaler (PH 101) and wild mage (PH2 151). Theme Extension: My second favorite paths behind subsystem paths are those that extend a common power/build theme.

4E EPIC DESTINIES FULL

Paths let you group all these mechanics in one place instead of having a toolbox of feats, items, and powers you have to take to gain full advantage (which not only makes it easier to design, but easier to build the character).

It takes a normal warlock function (collecting souls from defeated enemies) and tweaks it (by having you check which origin the creature was), then ties that mechanic into the path's powers (by having them care about which life sparks you have). The prime example is the Life-Stealer ( PH 141). They have a sort or subsystem or game within the game that is too involved to really put in feats (not that that stopped anybody from doing so).

Mechanical Subsystems: The best paragon paths build on the core of a class but add a new mechanic that changes the way you play.

I'll explain why I think that is later on. Mostly, this is because they're muddled and inconsistent. I'll say off the bat that I don't think paragon paths accomplish what they're supposed to do as well as epic destinies do. The two have similar goals: They aim to enhance the feel and themes of each tier and provide more character differentiation. I'm covering this first partially because I want to talk about paragon paths soon, and I plan to call back to some of the things I'll say here. Last time, when talking about epic destinies, I said: There's also a wide span between the great examples of each mechanic and the weakest, so I'll often qualify my opinion when I'm talking about the potential versus the reality. This is all my opinion, and your tastes or experiences might give you a higher or lower opinion of whatever I'm talking about. It will judge which aspects succeeded and failed, and rate how close the mechanic came to its goals and how beneficial it is to the game experience.

4E EPIC DESTINIES SERIES

About this Series: This post is part of a series about some of the new concepts in 4th Edition, particularly ones I had a hand in designing.

4e epic destinies