Continuing my desert adventure, my PCs were unfortunate enough to run into the following hard encounter with strange fish adapted to swimming through sand rather than water.
The encounter for 6 level 22 PCs was 4 Sand Rays (like sting rays) and 1 Great Sand Shark (a prehistoric killing machine like a great white shark). Now as each of these creatures is level 25 that gave me a budget of 63,000 XP which works out as about a level 26.5 encounter, so about 4.5 levels above the group. I expected it to be pretty tough, and the group had faced 2 easy encounters before this one. I even thought there might be the possibility of a couple of deaths……
Sand Ray Level 25 Skirmisher
Large Natural Beast XP 7,000
Initiative +25 Senses Perception +22, tremorsense 10
HP 230; Bloodied 115; see Lightning Bolt
AC 39; Fortitude 36, Reflex 38, Will 37
Resist 15 lightning;
Vulnerable 5 cold
Speed 4, burrow 4, also see Shimmer
Quick Sting (Standard; at-will)
Reach 2; attack +30 vs. AC; 3d8+9 damage
Lightning Sting (Standard; at-will) ♦ lightning
Reach 2; attack +30 vs. AC; 4d6+9 lightning damage; on hit secondary
attack + 24 vs. Fortitude; on hit target is stunned (save ends)
Lightning Bolt (Standard; encounter) ♦ only while bloodied
Only while bloodied; range 10; attack +28 vs. Reflex; 4d8+9 lightning
damage; on hit target is stunned (save ends)
Shimmer (Move; recharge
) ♦ teleport
Sand Ray teleports 8 squares as a move action
Alignment Unaligned
Skills Endurance +23, Stealth +30
Str 20 (+17) Dex 28 (+21) Wis 20 (+17)
Con 22 (+18) Int 3 (+8) Cha 25 (+19)
Great Sand Shark Level 25 Solo Brute
Huge Natural Magical Beast XP 35,000
Initiative +25 / +10 Senses Perception +24, tremorsense 20
HP 1,190; Bloodied 595; see Bloodied Revival
AC 37; Fortitude 40, Reflex 35, Will 37
Saving Throws +5
Speed 7 (sandswim), burrow 6
Action Points 2
Bite (Standard; at-will)
Attack +28 vs. AC; 4d6+11 damage; on hit target takes 5 bleeding
damage (save ends)
Tail Whack (Immediate Reaction; at-will) ♦ when attacked
When attacked within reach 2; attack +26 vs. Fortitude; 1d12+11
damage; on hit target is pushed 4 squares and dazed until the start of
their next turn
Blade Fin (Standard; recharge 
)
Sand Shark moves up to 7 squares and may move through enemies
squares but must end in clear space, this movement provokes opportunity
attacks as normal; each enemy it moves through takes the following
attack; attack +26 vs. Reflex; 2d6+11 damage; on hit target takes 15
ongoing bleeding damage (save ends)
Jaws of Death (Standard; recharge )
Sand Shark burrows up to 6 squares, this movement does not provoke
opportunity attacks; Sand shark must emerge from the sand at the end of
this movement, and may make the following attack against any 1 adjacent
target; attack +30 vs. AC; 5d12+11 damage; on hit target is knocked
prone and takes 10 bleeding damage (save ends) if the target is already
taking bleeding damage it is instead increased by 10
Blood Sense
Sand Shark gains a +2 bonus to attack rolls against bleeding or bloodied
targets
Prehistoric Resilience
Any effect that would stun the Sand Shark instead dazes it for the
required duration; any effect that would daze the Sand Shark instead
grants all enemies combat advantage for the required duration; any effect
that would immobilise the Sand Shark instead slows it for the required
duration
Multiple Actions
The Sand Shark acts twice a round on initiative +25 and +10; on each
turn it may take a minor, move and standard action; the Sand Shark may
still only spend 1 action point in a round
Bloodied Revival (Free) ♦ when first bloodied
When first bloodied Sand Sharks Blade Fin and Jaws of Death powers
recharge as an immediate free action
Alignment Unaligned
Skills Endurance +27, Stealth +22
Str 32 (+23) Dex 20 (+17) Wis 24 (+19)
Con 30 (+22) Int 5 (+9) Cha 3 (+8)
In the end this was a long and tough fight, only one PC (the rogue) dropped at one point but was quickly brought back into the fight and soldiered on.
I was quite pleased with the way it worked, the group got to use their full compliment of powers that grant a bonus save to get rid of stuns, or even a couple of 35 ongoing bleeding damage!
The Sharks Blade Fin attack was a bit suicidal as it grants so many opportunity attacks, but I think this is fine as it has a lot of HPs and it keeps things moving. Overall I was very pleased with the amount of movement the shark displayed and coupled with the Sand Rays it meant that no-one was safe from the Deadly Sand Fish.
The encounter for 6 level 22 PCs was 4 Sand Rays (like sting rays) and 1 Great Sand Shark (a prehistoric killing machine like a great white shark). Now as each of these creatures is level 25 that gave me a budget of 63,000 XP which works out as about a level 26.5 encounter, so about 4.5 levels above the group. I expected it to be pretty tough, and the group had faced 2 easy encounters before this one. I even thought there might be the possibility of a couple of deaths……
Sand Ray Level 25 Skirmisher
Large Natural Beast XP 7,000
Initiative +25 Senses Perception +22, tremorsense 10
HP 230; Bloodied 115; see Lightning Bolt
AC 39; Fortitude 36, Reflex 38, Will 37
Resist 15 lightning;
Vulnerable 5 cold
Speed 4, burrow 4, also see Shimmer
Quick Sting (Standard; at-will)Reach 2; attack +30 vs. AC; 3d8+9 damage
Lightning Sting (Standard; at-will) ♦ lightningReach 2; attack +30 vs. AC; 4d6+9 lightning damage; on hit secondary
attack + 24 vs. Fortitude; on hit target is stunned (save ends)
Lightning Bolt (Standard; encounter) ♦ only while bloodiedOnly while bloodied; range 10; attack +28 vs. Reflex; 4d8+9 lightning
damage; on hit target is stunned (save ends)
Shimmer (Move; recharge
) ♦ teleportSand Ray teleports 8 squares as a move action
Alignment Unaligned
Skills Endurance +23, Stealth +30
Str 20 (+17) Dex 28 (+21) Wis 20 (+17)
Con 22 (+18) Int 3 (+8) Cha 25 (+19)
Great Sand Shark Level 25 Solo Brute
Huge Natural Magical Beast XP 35,000
Initiative +25 / +10 Senses Perception +24, tremorsense 20
HP 1,190; Bloodied 595; see Bloodied Revival
AC 37; Fortitude 40, Reflex 35, Will 37
Saving Throws +5
Speed 7 (sandswim), burrow 6
Action Points 2
Bite (Standard; at-will)Attack +28 vs. AC; 4d6+11 damage; on hit target takes 5 bleeding
damage (save ends)
Tail Whack (Immediate Reaction; at-will) ♦ when attackedWhen attacked within reach 2; attack +26 vs. Fortitude; 1d12+11
damage; on hit target is pushed 4 squares and dazed until the start of
their next turn
Blade Fin (Standard; recharge )Sand Shark moves up to 7 squares and may move through enemies
squares but must end in clear space, this movement provokes opportunity
attacks as normal; each enemy it moves through takes the following
attack; attack +26 vs. Reflex; 2d6+11 damage; on hit target takes 15
ongoing bleeding damage (save ends)
Jaws of Death (Standard; recharge )Sand Shark burrows up to 6 squares, this movement does not provoke
opportunity attacks; Sand shark must emerge from the sand at the end of
this movement, and may make the following attack against any 1 adjacent
target; attack +30 vs. AC; 5d12+11 damage; on hit target is knocked
prone and takes 10 bleeding damage (save ends) if the target is already
taking bleeding damage it is instead increased by 10
Blood Sense
Sand Shark gains a +2 bonus to attack rolls against bleeding or bloodied
targets
Prehistoric Resilience
Any effect that would stun the Sand Shark instead dazes it for the
required duration; any effect that would daze the Sand Shark instead
grants all enemies combat advantage for the required duration; any effect
that would immobilise the Sand Shark instead slows it for the required
duration
Multiple Actions
The Sand Shark acts twice a round on initiative +25 and +10; on each
turn it may take a minor, move and standard action; the Sand Shark may
still only spend 1 action point in a round
Bloodied Revival (Free) ♦ when first bloodied
When first bloodied Sand Sharks Blade Fin and Jaws of Death powers
recharge as an immediate free action
Alignment Unaligned
Skills Endurance +27, Stealth +22
Str 32 (+23) Dex 20 (+17) Wis 24 (+19)
Con 30 (+22) Int 5 (+9) Cha 3 (+8)
In the end this was a long and tough fight, only one PC (the rogue) dropped at one point but was quickly brought back into the fight and soldiered on.
I was quite pleased with the way it worked, the group got to use their full compliment of powers that grant a bonus save to get rid of stuns, or even a couple of 35 ongoing bleeding damage!
The Sharks Blade Fin attack was a bit suicidal as it grants so many opportunity attacks, but I think this is fine as it has a lot of HPs and it keeps things moving. Overall I was very pleased with the amount of movement the shark displayed and coupled with the Sand Rays it meant that no-one was safe from the Deadly Sand Fish.
