Martial Powers Are Not Spells
They just make martial characters awesome
4th edition made every class a spellcaster!!
This is one of the more common complaints about the game. The basis for this argument is usually either because powers look, and function, much like spells or because the martial characters now had special things they could do. Special things that used to be reserved for actual spellcasters.
But are powers really spells? Where do you draw the line between spells and abilities?
Let’s take a look.
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What is a Spell?
I think most will agree that spells have to do with magic. A spell is an ability that channels an energy from an outside source to perform some action. This might be healing or transformation or conjuration or any number of other things. To use a spell, one must commit themselves to a lifetime of study and practice to master the craft.
When a wizard casts Magic Missile and a bolt of light streaks across the battlefield at an enemy, everyone will agree that was magic. When a cleric recites a prayer and a light of divine origin allows an ally to heal, that is also magic (Healing Word). These would be considered spells and no one would mount much of an argument.
What Are Martial Powers?
If you spend any time looking at the martial powers, you will find that nearly all of them are actually rather mundane. They provide a boost to defenses or a bonus to damage or allow some extra movement. Certainly nothing that would rise to the level of magic.
Here are a couple examples…
When the ranger is damaged with a melee attack, they shift 2 squares while gaining a +2 bonus to their defenses. Is this a spell? There is nothing magical about it. The ranger just moved and got all defensive.
The warlord shares a piece of insight into the defenses of an enemy and causes nearby allies to gain an attack bonus against that target. This is no more a spell than Hans Gruber telling Karl to, “Shoot the glass!”, is a spell.
Over and over, what you will find when looking at martial powers is that they are nothing more than dealing more damage, sliding an enemy or an ally, getting an adrenaline rush that grants some temp HP, or taking an extra action.
All modern editions of D&D have special things that the martial classes can do. 4th edition may have more of them, but that does not make these characters spellcasters. That just means that 4e has more flexibility when building your character.
But some martial powers are magic!!
I will concede that there are some martial powers in 4e that do stretch into the area that would be considered magic.
We could argue that a power which allows a character to heal is magic. Area Burst powers could fall into a magical category for a martial character.
First of all, the number of martial powers that I could find that did things which would extend into the realm of magic were very few. For every Iron Warrior, that allows a 16th-level fighter to spend a healing surge, there were a dozen other powers that did nothing more than typical martial things.
And, let’s not forget that these characters have been training their entire lives to become fighting masters. If a wizard can study arcane scrolls all their life and be able to cast magical spells, is it really that hard to imagine a world where a martial character could become so skilled at their craft that they could figure out a way to heal themselves during a fight.
But no mortal could do that?
Our D&D heroes are not your run-of-the-mill mortals. They have been training their entire life to be something special. They should be able to do special things.
Think of your typical action movie. It is filled with humans doing things that we know are not physically possible in the real-world. But we watch them do these things and we cheer them on without questioning it.
In Batman Begins, Bruce Wayne saves Ra's al Ghul by sliding down an icy ledge and grabbing him with with his right arm while the bracers on his left arm dig into the ice to keep both of these full grown men from plummeting to their deaths.
But that is not all!!
Oh no. Bruce Wayne then proceeds to lift Ra's al Ghul, with one arm, back up onto the icy ledge.
Are these things that a human should be able to do? Not a chance. But it sure was exciting.
In D&D, this would be an Acrobatics check followed by an Athletics check and a pretty impressive Strength check. Not a bit of magic required. Just a martial character doing amazing things.
Martial powers are not spells. They are just a great way to give martial characters interesting things to do besides swinging a weapon. They provide nice narrative tools that encourage the players to get creative with each round of combat. The offer a ton of options at each level so that every character is unique. And, they allow every class to use a common set of rules so that every class is accessible to everyone.
Before I go, I have a couple other items…
4e Games
I’ve had some people ask about when I will play more 4e games. I had played a few games last fall, and had a great time doing so, but have not done any since.
I would love to continue the games. I even thought about running games like the old 4e D&D Encounters program where we play one encounter in each session and rotate through players every week.
The problem is that I do not want to commit to something that I do not feel I will be able to stick to. I really struggle to find the time to put together encounters and adventures. As much as I would love to have a weekly game that we could play, I am very hesitant to start doing it and then flake out two weeks in because I am too busy.
At some point I will figure out how to make it work. But, for now, I am sticking with the posts and the videos.
AI Art
I have a whole write-up with my position on the use of AI art. Feel free to check it out.
I try to avoid using any official content except in cases where I feel I am within the boundaries of what I am allowed to use. I have used some AI art in my posts to provide some color to the pages. In this post today, I tried something new and just used a stock nature image as the thumbnail.
I am curious what the community thinks.
Thank you.
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