Monster Design - The Mano-a-Mano, built for a 1-on-1 combat within a battle.

[catastrophic]

Hey all, i've been toying with a monster idea, so I thought i'd share it.

THE MANO-A-MANO

The Mano-a-Mano is a monster with the tactical role of a soldier, but what's different about this monster is the narrative role they play in the story of the battle.

The MaM is designed to operate as a duellist- a melee combatant who engages a single PC in a dramatic one on one battle, which is somewhat detached from the broader combat.

The MaM can be used to play the role of the personal nemesis of a warrior, or just the kind of classic big nasty bruiser that heroes of a certain bent often find them self facing in their adventures. A concept like this can make for good spotlight time if handled well, but can go poorly if it's too restrictive, or simply not successful- which is why I designed this monster to fit the niche

This 'sub-role' is a departure to normal 4e combat, which is, rightfully dominated by teamwork- but this has some unintended consequences when you try and create the dramatically appropriate one-on-one duel.
The monster is built to give the duel some room, without the rest of the party detracting too much from the confrontation by trying to help out- but without punishing them too harshly for doing so. Essentially what I'm going for here is soft isolation that makes the duel the optimal tactical choice for the party. If the party gets involved a little bit, that's fine, but they're probably better off tackling other targets.

I've made the monster as a level 6 soldier with mm3 math, dealing average damage+effects and focused mainly on movement and bonus attacks. I'm not using stats or skill for the monster, because that's going to be more down to their character details.

The 'flavour' of the monster's powers is that of two humanoid combatants locked in a whirling, chaotic melee a close range. As they battle, their rapid movements and position make it difficult for their allies to lend a hand, and those coming close are met with aggressive response by the MaM, who jealously guards their chosen prey, even from their allies! The 'zone of carnage' is not magical, but represents the fact that anyone in the melee is moving rapidly about the space in question, and very close to one another.

Here's the design- there's some more analysis after the monster block if you're interested. Of course, feedback and alternatives are welcome, as this is a perpetual work in progress.

Duels can be problematic in most tactical rpgs, including 4e.

On one hand, a dramatic one on one duel to the death is usually not feasible in a normal, challenging fight- for most roles, even isolating strikers, the aid being given by defenders, leaders, and controllers is pivotal to winning the fight. This causes a conflict between two of the main play-styles- on the one hand, people after a dramatic confrontation, on the other hand, people wanting to perform as well as possible in combat.

But on the other hand, if you create a 'set piece' which for instance, isolates a single hero from the group so they can duel with a nemesis, then against the system doesn't support this easily, because roles tend to get in the way. Some strikers can stand up well in a solo fight, but also tend to be vulnerable- some even have isolation mechanics that are useless if there aren't other foes on the battlefield. OTOH many defender classes might seem to fit a duel, but often don't do well without an ally to protect. And of course, too much DM fiat defining the battlefield like this can wear thin for some players.

This monster design isn't a perfect solution for these problems, but rather an attempt to create a space in a battle where a pc can have a decent amount of 'alone time' with a foe, in the way that is often seen in various action movies and other works. One might argue that the 'lone hero' is not the default narrative for 4e or rpgs in general- but rps should be flexible enough to give people these sorts of 'genre moments' if it is possible to do so.

The monster's design is restricted to melee combat- a ranged duel may be viable, but would need a very different design. Unfortunately, a viable core 'duellist' role mechanic seems unlikely, and although a duellist monster role might be viable, ultimately such monsters operate as soldiers by definition.

Modification
Changing the level of the monster would mainly be about the basic math, and giving them more movement and forced movement. Some dms might want to give the MaM a bit more damage, or bit more 'shrug off' to avoid being stunlocked or otherwise neutralised. Others may want to remove one of the shrug off effects, or limit nemesis slide to once per round or turn.

A 'signature attack' with additional effects is also a good option to add, but that would depend on your campaign and the character the monster is used to portray. This is a long-ish monster sheet, but the mechanics are relatively straightforward, so adding a single signiature attack is simple enough.

 

[Gondsman]

I think you need to be careful with a monster like this to avoid giving whoever gets stuck fighting it the feeling that they are being railroaded. I think If I were running the game I'd try and keep something like a template of this tucked away for when a particular player's roleplaying warrants it, preparing the encounter to be a teamwork encounter, but being prepared to slip in the new stats when "the wronged fighter" (say binwin bronzebottom vs Citrine Ambershard) takes his revenge, or maybe a chaotically shifting environment inadvertently separates the group, or maybe even a "our best warrior vs your best warrior decides the war" sort of situation.

I think it's a great idea, typically I forget that it isn't just the minion that is meant be be taken on and out by the "lone wolf"

 

[the Jester]

Hmm. Interesting idea, but I think the execution is too messy- there are too many powers to keep track of, many of which don't really work together (you only get one immediate action per round). I think it would be easy to clean up, though, starting by getting rid of nemesis slide and just building its effects into the other powers that currently trigger it.

I would also drop the recharge from dueling on the blast front and they're mine!. Basically, do what you can to make this guy easier to run and I think you have a winner.

 

[catastrophic]

Thanks for your input guys!

Hmm. Interesting idea, but I think the execution is too messy- there are too many powers to keep track of, many of which don't really work together (you only get one immediate action per round).

The limit on immediate actions is intentional- you're only looking at using one of those tricks a round.

The monster is still a soldier, and primarily has the soldier's marking powers. Normally, soldiers have to make the choice between say, punishing their target for hitting an ally, and holding their interupt in case they try and move off. Other reactions are alternatives to that, not ways to enhance it.

The mark penalty to attack rolls is there either way, and it doens't lapse easily. This soldier's ability to move and force movement on their MBA also makes it quite powerful, so it's important to keep that restrained.

In addition, it has thematic options on other turns, but using them also gives their target a turn away from the mark interupts effects.

I think it would be easy to clean up, though, starting by getting rid of nemesis slide and just building its effects into the other powers that currently trigger it.

I actually did that to try and make it tidier, because otherwise the language would be repeated multiple times. It also makes it easier for the DM to recognise and modify the core mechanic.

I would also drop the recharge from dueling on the blast front and they're mine!. Basically, do what you can to make this guy easier to run and I think you have a winner.

I feel as if we're basically coming at the nemesis slide from opposite directions for the same reason- I did it in an attempt to make the sheet less complex, but for you (and others, potentially), it's more complex as a result

 

[the Jester]

I really don't think it would hurt to make the immediate actions free 1/round... it really speeds up the duel, but that's probably okay. It also would promote the "fast and furious" feel that it seems like you're going for.

Either way, I like this guy.

 

[Unwise]

I like the concept of a 1v1 fight, however it can be hard to fit in without it feeling railroaded. I have used some instances recently with variations on duels.

1) In a Torig temple the players found themselves struck by tormented ghosts. The ghosts were stalkers and had a "shared suffering" attack. It did damage, but placed a condition on the target that meant if they struck the ghost, they took the full damage themself as well. This worked out really well, in a widely spread battlefield it was tactically challenging as amounted to the opposite of a duel, nobody afford to attack their own attacker. This worked far better when I made the ghosts minions in a later encounter.

2) There was an instance of a duel was when abominations attempted to 'meld' with the PCs. The result of this attack was that if anybody else attacked the abomination (other than their target) the target took full damage as well. This was in the lab of a doctor like the guy from "Human Centipede" (don't look it up if you don't know what I am talking about), so was extra creepy.

3) The PCs once got on the wrong side of a Bahumut cult. This resulted in a few assassins coming for them. I actually used a PC template for these, making them Avengers. The players got a new appreciation for just how hard it is to get away from an Avenger who wants to duel you.

4) Angels of Vengeance are amazing, I really love them, they teleport right up to you and ruin your day. I was feeling particularly evil once, so paired up angels of Vengeance with angels of Warding. They warders stopped (or attempted to) anybody else from approaching and interfering with the righteous smiting the victim was getting from their vengeful colleagues.

5) Nedrazuul (sp?) are great. I was feeling particularly nasty so put them in a multi-level tower with line of sight between the levels. They hit you, teleport you away from your friends and touch you in unpleasant ways. For added horror I put a portal to the abyss at the top of the tower, if they managed to teleport you up all 4 levels you were in for a realm bad day.

These sort of fights worked well for me and the players. The tank found them enraging which was good, but by being a really tough SOB he just tanked through many negative effects, provoked heaps of opportunity and kept doing his job.