orcmonk220
Underboss
1608 Posts
    
 | | 02/22/2006 8:46 AM |
| OK, so already preparing for a 5th level encounter where the party will first fight the recurring villian - a 3rd-level half red dragon, with a class I'm unsure on (fighter maybe).
What is this level adjustment then? I'm tryin to get the hang of it. HELP!!!
Chris [?]
p.s. Should I know anything else about recurring villians. | |
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wolfsbane114
Warrior
327 Posts
| | 02/22/2006 9:46 AM |
| There's book called The complete Villans guide. It would be helpful. If I had it with me I could give you better advice.
It has helped me with my Major bad guys though. | |
Champion of Flint Fireforge
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jgsugden
Commander
4320 Posts
Walnut Creek, CA
| | 02/22/2006 10:04 AM |
| | The SRD says that half dragons have an LA (level adjustment) of +3. This means that a level 3 fighter (of a race with no LA of its own) with the half dragon template would have an ECL (effective character level) of 6 (3 LA + 3 HD). The CR would be 5 (CR +2 and Level of 3). | |
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orcmonk220
Underboss
1608 Posts
| | 02/22/2006 12:29 PM |
| | Thx, another quicky: As he's an augmented human, does he get the human 1st level bonus feat? also, in the MM, how'd the Half-Dragon get two-weapon fighting? He hasn't got Dex 15+ | |
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Sammael
Underboss
1881 Posts
| | 02/22/2006 1:00 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by orcmonk220
Thx, another quicky: As he's an augmented human, does he get the human 1st level bonus feat?
Yes.
quote:
also, in the MM, how'd the Half-Dragon get two-weapon fighting? He hasn't got Dex 15+
1) Give him two levels of ranger instead
or
2) If he fights with his claws, he doesn't need two-weapon fighting. Give him Multiattack and Improved Multiattack, and possibly Improved Natural Attack. | |
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IanB
Commander
3112 Posts
| | 02/22/2006 6:46 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by orcmonk220
p.s. Should I know anything else about recurring villians.
He needs a way to get out if he's in trouble. Be careful about making him invincible, though, that would just irritate your players. If they legitimately kill him, it is better to let them get him and rework the game from there than it is to break the rules to save the named badguy. It hurts the story overall and your players will never know what it is "OK" for them to do from then on. | |
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maijstral
Underboss
2105 Posts
| | 02/22/2006 7:54 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by IanB
quote:
Originally posted by orcmonk220
p.s. Should I know anything else about recurring villians.
He needs a way to get out if he's in trouble. Be careful about making him invincible, though, that would just irritate your players. If they legitimately kill him, it is better to let them get him and rework the game from there than it is to break the rules to save the named badguy. It hurts the story overall and your players will never know what it is "OK" for them to do from then on.
Give him a couple of lower level minion to throw at the party if he starts to lose. Something like "you two take care of these miscreants while I *whatever his excuse*".
I like to have a Bond type reoccuring villian, he just sits back and observes from a distance the first few encounters, sometimes seen in the background, sometimes you only find out about him when interrogating his minions then when he actually enters the fight he is legitamately aware of most of the PC's tactics and abilities and can plan accordingly. | | | |
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ShadowLord XT
Commander
2633 Posts
Plane of Shadow
| | 02/22/2006 8:00 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by IanB
quote:
Originally posted by orcmonk220
p.s. Should I know anything else about recurring villians.
He needs a way to get out if he's in trouble. Be careful about making him invincible, though, that would just irritate your players. If they legitimately kill him, it is better to let them get him and rework the game from there than it is to break the rules to save the named badguy. It hurts the story overall and your players will never know what it is "OK" for them to do from then on.
What??!? As a PC, if that re-occuring villain was particularily exciting to fight I would love it if he was brought back. Not as himself exactly, but a zombie of some sort. Maybe even a minion of a more powerful foe. | |
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IanB
Commander
3112 Posts
| | 02/22/2006 8:17 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by ShadowLord XT
quote:
Originally posted by IanB
quote:
Originally posted by orcmonk220
p.s. Should I know anything else about recurring villians.
He needs a way to get out if he's in trouble. Be careful about making him invincible, though, that would just irritate your players. If they legitimately kill him, it is better to let them get him and rework the game from there than it is to break the rules to save the named badguy. It hurts the story overall and your players will never know what it is "OK" for them to do from then on.
What??!? As a PC, if that re-occuring villain was particularily exciting to fight I would love it if he was brought back. Not as himself exactly, but a zombie of some sort. Maybe even a minion of a more powerful foe.
I'm not talking about getting him raised or reanimated or whatever. I'm talking about, for example, fudging results to save the badguy in the face of the rules, which is a mistake I've seen novice DMs make in the past. | |
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proudft
Sneak
109 Posts
| | 02/22/2006 9:16 PM |
| It might be obvious, but in case it's not, the easiest villains to have legitimately escape are those that can teleport. Fliers can be shot down, armored fighters can't run too fast, mounts can be slain. Teleporting, though, has a pretty high success rate from the DM point of view.
A risky option is to give him a Staff of Passage. He'll need a level of sorcerer or wizard to use it, and it's worth 170k gold, so it's way over his level guideline, but it will increase his escape probability substantially -- with the lack of Concentration check he's pretty impossible to stop as long as he's got it in his paws.
Of course, if he gets killed & looted, the party will then be able to beam all over the damn place, that's why it's a bit risky. But I have fond memories of a particular wizard enemy I used a few years back who was quite the pest with his Staff of Passage. He got away a good half dozen times before he finally got grappled or something.
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zenthrus
Warlord
5090 Posts
SLC, UT
| | 02/22/2006 11:47 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by proudft
It might be obvious, but in case it's not, the easiest villains to have legitimately escape are those that can teleport. Fliers can be shot down, armored fighters can't run too fast, mounts can be slain. Teleporting, though, has a pretty high success rate from the DM point of view.
A risky option is to give him a Staff of Passage. He'll need a level of sorcerer or wizard to use it, and it's worth 170k gold, so it's way over his level guideline, but it will increase his escape probability substantially -- with the lack of Concentration check he's pretty impossible to stop as long as he's got it in his paws.
Of course, if he gets killed & looted, the party will then be able to beam all over the damn place, that's why it's a bit risky. But I have fond memories of a particular wizard enemy I used a few years back who was quite the pest with his Staff of Passage. He got away a good half dozen times before he finally got grappled or something.
Give him a staff of passage with 2 or 3 charges left. Brings the price down substantially on the off chance your players off the BBEG. Give him a level of Sorc or Rogue (UMD) and you're set.
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orcmonk220
Underboss
1608 Posts
| | 02/23/2006 6:05 AM |
| I was thinking, as he will fight the PC's over slow burning rope bridges (5 rounds and it burns out), he could carry an item to summon fire elementals from the lava below. Then, as he slips back, a sliding stone door or avalance blocks the exit, forcing the PCs to deal with the fire elementals.
Also, he will have an adept scrying, who he will decapitate as the PCs see him just before the fight. | |
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proudft
Sneak
109 Posts
| | 02/23/2006 4:30 PM |
| Hey man, if he falls in the lava there's no proof he's dead. Just sayin'...
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Malin Lug
Sergeant
742 Posts
| | 02/23/2006 8:16 PM |
| We encountered one of the "big bads" that was supposed to be near unbeatable (a CR 17 when we were 9th - 10th level.) It was supposed to make an appearance, give a maniacal laugh, then disappear. He was a flying opponent who had SR 35. Our one good archer was stunned for almost the whole fight. We ended up killing him off. Do not underestimate your player's resourcefullness and ability to surprise you.
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orcmonk220
Underboss
1608 Posts
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