Another good solo trick- sorry if someone else has mentioned it, I'm a bit fuzzy headed this morning
- is to design them with a way to interact with a steady stream of minions. I think there's a particularly good example in the Dark Sun creature book, but it's at my girlfriend's house and I'm not, so I couldn't tell you which sorcerer-king it is.
But here's an example of that from my own design work- converted from the 3e MM5 IIRC- including the accompanying minion type. This is a much lower level solo than the others I've posted so far.
Hmm, this is yet another solo I designed with all at will attacks- she's just about dishing out tons of damage, and she can do it every round. And with her ability to incite attacks from her minions at range... I guess I'm satisfied with her. I haven't actually run her in a game, though.
Clearly I need to post a more interesting, less all-at-will-attacking solo to this thread.
Howler Wasp Queen --- Level 3 Solo Brute (Leader)
Large fey beast (insect) --- XP 750
HP 232; Bloodied 116 Initiative +1
AC 15; Fortitude 18; Reflex 13; Will 15 Perception +2
Speed 5
Saving Throws +5; Action Points 2
TRAITS
Pheremones of the Queen * Aura 3
If the howler wasp queen is stunned, dazed or dominated at the start of its turn, each of its insect allies in the aura makes a basic attack as a free action.
STANDARD ACTIONS
(mbasic) Bite * At Will
Attack: Melee 1 (one creature); +8 vs. AC.
Hit: 2d8+4 damage.
Effect: If the howler wasp queen is bloodied, it makes the attack a second time.
(melee) Sting of the Queen (poison) * At Will
Attack: Melee 1 (one creature); +6 vs. Fortitude.
Hit: 1d12+4 poison damage, plus ongoing 5 poison and the target is slowed (save ends both).
MINOR ACTIONS
(melee) Claw * At Will
Attack: Melee 1 (one creature); +8 vs. AC.
Hit: 2d6+6 damage.
(ranged) Inciting Pheremone * At Will
Attack: Range 10 (one creature); +6 vs. Reflex. This attack does not trigger opportunity attacks.
Hit: One 3rd or lower level insect ally of the howler wasp queen adjacent to the target makes a basic attack against it as a free action. It gets a +2 bonus to its attack roll and a +3 bonus to its damage.
TRIGGERED ACTIONS
Serve the Hive * At Will
Trigger: The howler wasp queen starts its turn and there are less than three howler wasps within 20 squares.
Effect (No Action): Three howler wasps appear within 20 squares of the queen. They act immediately following the queen. The first five of these wasps do not add to the experience point value of the encounter.
---
Str 18 Dex 11 Wis 13
Con 18 Int 6 Cha 8
Alignment unaligned Languages -
Howler Wasp --- Level 3 Minion Skirmisher (Leader)
Small fey beast (insect) --- XP 38
HP 1; a missed attack never damages a minion Initiative +6
AC 17; Fortitude 15; Reflex 17; Will 13 Perception +2
Speed 3, fly 10
STANDARD ACTIONS
(mbasic) Sting (poison) * At Will
Attack: Melee 1 (one creature); +8 vs. AC.
Hit: 4 poison damage.
Effect: The howler wasp shifts 2 squares.
TRIGGERED ACTIONS
(close) Pheremone Squirt * Encounter
Trigger: The howler wasp is reduced to 0 hit points.
Attack (No Action): Close blast 2 (the creature that slew the wasp); +6 vs. Reflex.
Hit: The target is doused in pheremones (save ends). While it is doused in pheremones, howler wasps gain a +2 bonus on attacks and damage against the target.
---
Str 8 Dex 17 Wis 13
Con 13 Int 3 Cha 6
Alignment unaligned Languages -