PHB2 In-Play: The Warden

The last of At-Will’s look into the PHB2 classes, but certainly not the least, we have the Warden. Protector of the natural world, the warden protects like there is no tomorrow.  If the invoker represents “pure” control, the Warden represents “pure” defender.  What this means in play is to put away all notions of damage.  Damage is completely unimportant to this class. What you trade for damage is the ability to be nigh-unstoppable.  You get two saves per round, massive hit points, great AC….and all you trade is some damage-dealing capability.

Now did this stop me from trying to make a damage-dealing Warden?  Of course not!  I’ve included the attempt below, but…it’s not getting anywhere near the top of your local DPR charts.

Back to defense.  What makes the Warden such a good defender? Stickiness.  “Each turn I mark every adjacent enemy” stickiness. “If you don’t hit me after I mark you, I hit you and everyone has combat advantage or I slide you and slow you” stickiness.  The warden was made to be in thick of the action and draw fire.  In this sense, the defender is definitely the best raw tank in the game.  They are also more simple to use as defenders than fighters.  Fighters require a certain finesse, a solid understanding of the ruleset, and a head for situational tactics to be run well.  Meet this pre-requisites and prepare to kick major tail.  Don’t, and expect to be a little dismayed at using the fighter. Fighters are the trickiest class in the PHB1 to play properly because it can do so much.  You can build a striker who is a striker, you can build a more defensive fighter, you can balance the qualities and do a bit of both…fighters aren’t rocket science, but they aren’t dead simple.

Wardens certainly have their complexities and consideration, but if you want to play someone who simply does one thing and does it well sans a lot of fussing, you’ve found your class. Simple, durable, and powerful within the scope of their role, Wardens are blast to have on the battlefield.

The Obvious Build

Book, Warforged Warden(Earthstrength)/Verdant Lord

More warforged!  Warforged are completely built for this class.  The warforged in my Slaughtervale game is warden, and is an  awesome tank.  He laughs at save end conditions, laughs at most attacks…he is hard to take down, and hard to get around.

Putting my GM hat on, the key vulnerability for Book is his mobility.  He’s not rooted down, but neither does he lithely dance across the battlefield.  Pulling him away from those he is protecting, then punishing his more breakable friends will be key in challenging this Warden.

FINAL ABILITY SCORES

Str 21, Con 21, Dex 11, Int 11, Wis 13, Cha 11.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES

Str 16, Con 16, Dex 10, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 10.

AC: 27 Fort: 23 Reflex: 19 Will: 20
HP: 118 Surges: 14 Surge Value: 29

TRAINED SKILLS

Nature +11, Athletics +12, Intimidate +12, Endurance +14

UNTRAINED SKILLS

Acrobatics +2, Arcana +5, Bluff +5, Diplomacy +5, Dungeoneering +6, Heal +6, History +5, Insight +6, Perception +6, Religion +5, Stealth +2, Streetwise +5, Thievery +2

FEATS

Level 1: Improved Warforged Resolve
Level 2: Revitalizing Font of Life
Level 4: Sudden Roots
Level 6: Toughness
Level 8: Weapon Expertise (Heavy Blade)
Level 10: Warforged Tactics
Level 11: Earthstrength Resolve

POWERS

Warden at-will 1: Strength of Stone
Warden at-will 1: Weight of Earth
Warden daily 1: Form of Winter’s Herald
Warden daily 5: Thunder Step
Warden daily 9: Form of the Oak Sentinel
Warden encounter 1: Thunder Ram Assault
Warden encounter 3: Earthgrasp Strike
Warden encounter 7: Mountain Hammer
Warden utility 10: Earthstride
Warden utility 2: Eyes of the Hawk
Warden utility 6: Bear’s Endurance

ITEMS

Defensive Longsword +3, Medallion of Death Deferred +2, Heavy Shield, Shared Suffering Hide Armor +2

The Interesting Build

Ubada, Half-Orc Warden(Wildblood)/Bloodfury Savage

Here’s that “striker” warden that I was talking about.  A few things:

Bloodclaw weapons make me feel dirty.  I try to avoid using them, but I felt I had few options at this point.  I’m trying to break the mold here…as it was I just cracked it. A little.  Over in that corner over there…

Racial Paragon Paths are just too damn awesome.  They fill in gaps astoundingly well.  Using Bloodfury Savage I got access to a [3W] power and abilities and flavor that makeUbada feel like the wannabe-barbarian that he is.

He can generate some big big damage, at cost to his health/accuracy.  You don’t want to go for the gusto all the time,  Power Attack + Bloodclaw + Power = huge damage, but poor accuracy.  You’ll want to set up those hits by attaining combat advantage or tapping your neighborhood leader for bonuses. You have a lot of HPs, but you are a melee fighter and your AC…sucks.  Be careful.

You want to use charging basic attack as much as possible.  You can maximize overall damage by charging, triggering your Powerful Charge and Bracers of Mighty Striking.

FINAL ABILITY SCORES

Str 21, Con 13, Dex 13, Int 11, Wis 19, Cha 11.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES

Str 16, Con 12, Dex 10, Int 10, Wis 16, Cha 10.

AC: 24 Fort: 21 Reflex: 16 Will: 20
HP: 100 Surges: 10 Surge Value: 25

TRAINED SKILLS

Nature +14, Athletics +14, Intimidate +12, Endurance +12

UNTRAINED SKILLS

Acrobatics +5, Arcana +5, Bluff +5, Diplomacy +5, Dungeoneering +9, Heal +9, History +5, Insight +9, Perception +9, Religion +5, Stealth +5, Streetwise +5, Thievery +5

FEATS

Level 1: Weapon Focus (Axe)
Level 2: Weapon Expertise (Axe)
Level 4: Powerful Charge
Level 6: Weapon Proficiency (Execution axe)
Level 8: Power Attack
Level 10: Revitalizing Font of Life
Level 11: Unrelenting Assault

POWERS

Warden at-will 1: Weight of Earth
Warden at-will 1: Thorn Strike
Warden daily 1: Form of the Fearsome Ram
Warden daily 5: Thunder Step
Warden daily 9: Form of the Oak Sentinel
Warden encounter 1: Wildblood Frenzy
Warden encounter 3: Predatory Guardian
Warden encounter 7: Stalker’s Positioning
Warden utility 10: Returning Strength
Warden utility 2: Triumphant Vigor
Warden utility 6: Bear’s Endurance

ITEMS

Bloodclaw Execution axe +3, Bracers of Mighty Striking (paragon tier), Lifeblood Hide Armor +2

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