Blog-It Llama!

By Nick - October 12, 2009

Beautiful and obvious. This class is conceptually what the 3rd Edition Ranger was. An archer that wields the power of nature on his side, shooting arrows and wielding magic. I loved the classic Ranger. One of my favorite characters ever was part of a Ranger-Paladin duo. I’m glad to see it return in spirit with a name that I dig a lot. Seeker also immediately conjures an association with fantasy because of the Legend of the Seeker television series.

Class Features

They’ve only got one class option right now, which I was a little bummed about since they included two for the Assassin. I can live with a little less considering this class will actually come out sometime in the next six months.

Inevitable Shot: Handy mechanically but also fits the name of the class and the concepts that go with it. If you miss, you can make your arrow turn around and hit a different target. If that wasn’t good enough, it innately comes with the ability to be regained when you spend an action point. This really encourages picking up powers that also have an effect on a miss, so that a miss will barely feel like you failed at all because you still get some kind of effect with the base power and you get to use Inevitable Shot.

Encaging Spirits: A potent crowd control ability, but what makes it really ridiculous is the fact that it’s a minor action. The area effect size increasing with each tier helps this feel more like a class feature than a tacked on power.

At-Will Powers

All of these are for taking on groups of enemies. These are surprisingly good for just at-will powers. If you pick up a few feats that augment at-will powers, these can become almost as reliable as any encounter power. Mechanically, all of these hit a single target and have a splash effect against enemies adjacent to it. That makes a lot more sense considering you’re firing an arrow or throwing a knife at them. You charge your projectile with magic and they explode on impact. There are only three at-will powers introduced in the article, but two of them are quite efficient for dealing damage to multiple targets. The best one has to be Elemental Spirits, which turns the target into a bit of a hot potato in terms of keeping enemies out of the occupied spaces around them. It stands out amongst the rest of the at-will powers because you can choose between one of four energy types for the kind of damage that it deals, opening up a lot of potential for the kinds of feats that you could have apply to it.

Other Powers

There’s a whole shabang of powers from levels one to twenty-nine that are all here. Some of these power have some interesting math that I haven’t seen before, dealing damage that is a combination based on what your weapon deals and what is specified by the power. I really dig powers like Fungal Bloom, which is a ranged attack that then summons poisonous hazards that act like traps. Then there are some the few single target powers that they get that still keep in theme with the controller power like Flesh-Tether Shot, a power that puts your target in the volatile position of choosing whether or not they should stay still or move to rip the flesh-tether and take some damage.

Some people I’ve played with say they don’t feel like the powers that all the classes get are different enough, but I think it’s because they’re only processing the mechanical implications of powers and not reading the descriptions. Flesh-Tether Shot conjures a wondrous visual but if you don’t read it just comes off like another movement impairing power with a little twist.

Paragon Paths

I enjoy the commentary you can find in these articles. It really puts you in the head of the creators. These two paragon paths where specifically developed to either increase the striker or controller potential in the Seeker. Though both paragon paths offered here are quite good, I definitely prefer the more controller-esque Seven Fates Archer over the Crimson Hunter. The Seven Fates Archer struck me as more uniquely tailored in what it offers. The attack roll penalty that lets you give a free AC bonus to an ally is invaluable for the fact that if you get a power that lets you attack multiple times, you could give this bonus to every party member that you have. The level twenty power that they receive dramatically changes the battlefield, offering cover for you and your allies and acting as a hazard for your foes.

Feats

There a so few feats here, but at least they made all of them pretty much essential to be an effective Seeker presented here…

Strengthened Bond, Inescapable Shot, Bloodbond Wrath, Inevitable Volley, and Inevitable Accuracy

With all of these feats combined, you can really make Inevitable Shot into something that is far more than just a handy class feature. With all of these combined together, you gain greater range, more uses, and more reliability with the power. I think it would be a bit of a waste to pick up all of these feats to enhance a power that relies on you missing with an attack, but picking up at least a few wouldn’t hurt.

Conclusion

This is really the class I’d rather be over the Ranger. Getting a beast companion is cool and a deal-breaker for those of you that love animals, but I’d rather have my arrows explode into vines and poison my enemies. I get a warm, comforting feeling from this class like I haven’t been able to find the right sized shoes to fit my 3rd Edition Ranger craving until now.

Categories: Articles, Dungeons and Dragons
Tags: D&D, DnD, Dragon, Dungeons & Dragons, Dungeons and Dragons, Insider, Primal Power, Ranger, Roleplaying Game, RPG, Seeker, Tabletop Gaming