revenge_kobold's page

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I think Int Strike could work fine if it was reach-based at start, then got a +5 boost as an early core class Feature. The issue with swapping Int Foe/Strike is that dmg reduction is guaranteed impact that really does affect the outcome.

Giving allies +2 AC for a single hit is NOT a good idea for a core class feature, IMO. Not only will its impact be very swingy and RNG, but I don't think that will feel as satisfying as Int Strike's reduction. Psychologically speaking, it will feel "useless" most of the time, and only feel significantly impactful only when a roll's outcome is changed.

I don't entirely disagree, but consider the following:

If the enemy is Taunted, the effective AC bonus you are granting is increased to somewhere between +3 and +5, making your -2 effective AC much more enticing (is the enemy going to attack the Barbarian with 22AC AC or the heavy tank with 19?). Additionally, even early on, if you hop to your ally's side, you will be in a better position to use Hampering Sweeps to lock the enemy down, or you'll be in position to use Intercept Strike if the ally wants to stick around. Heck, by level 8 with the current build options, you could do Intercept Strike after using your reaction to Intercept Foe. It's awesome, and that's kind of the issue.

The class already has so many feats built around combining Intercept Foe and Intercept Strike - I don't really feel like either should be feat options, honestly. Swapping Intercept Foe and Intercept Strike was my initial thought, but the more I think about it, the more it feels like they should both be part of the same class feature.

I haven't seen a lot of talk about this yet, but I think Intercept Foe is a strong enough feat to feel required, and that it largely replaces Intercept Strike until level 8 where you get Quick Intercept. It has great synergy with Taunt, gives the Guardian the movement it needs to function well, and it's just a unique and fun play style that hasn't been present in the game to this point. Adding ally movement to it with Get Behind Me! at 10 just makes it that much more effective - If you're not hopping to and shuffling your friends around the battlefield every round, then it just seems like you're missing out, no matter how else you build the class.

Frankly I think Intercept Foe fits the class identity more than Intercept Strike does, and I will die on this hill - I'd prefer it as a base class feature. Intercept Strike is great in niche situations, but I can't help but feel it works better as a supplement to Intercept Foe than it does as the second root feature of the class (with Taunt being the first).

It also feels like Intercept Foe, along with a number of other low level feats (like Hampering Sweeps), make the class more attractive as a class archetype than as a base class. The class *does* have a clear niche though, it just seems to require certain feats to get there.