Giant Praying Mantis

[kobold]

I'm working a conversion for Castle Whiterock and need a Giant Praying Mantis. This is the Big fight for the level, and is level 1 encounter. Can you tell me if this seems well thought out?
Thanks,
Andy


Giant Praying Mantis
Solo Brute
Initiative +2 Senses Perception +7
HP 200; Bloodied 100
AC 18; Fortitude 17, Reflex 20, Will 16
Saving Throws +5
Speed 6, fly 6 (hover), overland flight 10

Bite (Standard, at-will)
Reach 2; +6 vs Armor Class; 1d8+4

Claw (Standard, at-will)
Reach 2; +6 vs Armor Class; 1d8+4 damage.

Claw, Claw Bite (Standard, at-will)
The Mantis makes two claw attacks. If the Mantis hits a single target with both claws, it makes a bite attack against the same target.

Beating Wings (Standard, recharge 5,6 ) Primal
Close blast 4; +8 vs Reflex; 1d6+1 damage, and the target is pushed 2 squares.

Frightful Presence (Standard, encounter) Fear
Close burst 5; targets enemies; +4 vs Will; the target is stunned until the end of the dragon’s next turn. Aftereffect: The target takes a -2 penalty to attack rolls (save ends).

Skills Athletics +15
Str 18 (+5) Dex 18 (+5) Wis 10 (+1)
Con 12 (+2) Int 10 (+1) Cha 8 (0)

 

[FunkBGR]

I don't own Castle Whiterock, but can you describe the location the creature will be encountered in?

It might make more sense to make it a skirmisher, for example, if the location has a lot of ledges that let you move around.

In addition, you might look into Flyby Attack (Wyvern's have it, for example). That might make your fight more mobile (if you wanted that).

Right now, it looks like it'll get up in the PC's face, and just start attacking like mad.

Also, minor nitpick. It says dragon in the Frightful Presence block. Not a big deal at all.

 

[kobold]

As a monster it may need fly by attacks, but in the given local its actually rather confined. A straight up in you face fight is the setup.
opps cut and paste form the dragons fear

 

[Mengu]

This looks like a level 3 encounter, not a level 1 (though certainly appropriate as a difficult encounter against a level 1 party if that's what you meant).

You may want to switch Reflex and Fortitude around if you have a wizard, warlock, and/or cleric among the players who frequently target reflex. Also fits the Brute role a bit better. However if they have at-will powers that target Fortitude, the way you have it is fine.

Need 2 action points.

Beating wings is high on the attack bonus and low on damage. Even if you wanted a more reliable/less damaging attack, I'd at least adjust it to:

Beating Wings (Standard, recharge 5,6 and when bloodied) * Primal
Close blast 5; +6 vs Reflex; 2d6+4 damage, and the target is pushed 2 squares and knocked prone.

The blast 5 makes sure you can get the people with range 5 attacks. The bloodied recharge makes sure you get to use the power at least twice even if you keep whiffing the recharge roll. Knocked prone gives the players something to think about (and the dwarf something to brag about).

I'd change "stunned" to "dazed" in frightful presence. I try to reserve stun for the very occasional monster (stun is a boring and un-fun condition).

 

[chronoplasm]

I can't see a praying mantis as a brute. The point of a mantis is that it just pops out and snatches you with its big claws.

Try making it a lurker and see where that takes you.

 

[Mesh Hong]

I am assuming this is a level 3 solo brute.

I think some for your figures are a little out, I get HPs and defences to be slightly different to yours (though you may just be tailoring this to your group).

I also notice that your claw and bite attacks are exactly the same, these should probably be redesigned to add a bit of variety.

I think the attack +8 vs. Reflex is way ahead of the game, in fact it would be the equivalent of a level 7 brute.

Generally attacks that target more than one creature are 1 or 2 lower than the standard, but in this case I wouldn’t want to go lower than +4.

I have taken the liberty of designing a level 3 solo brute Preying Mantis to give you something to think about and help you finish yours. Though as other posters have mentioned I would personally see it as a skirmisher or lurker. Having said that a party level +2 brute is a better low level solo encounter than a party level +2 skirmisher or lurker as they have better stats.

Giant Preying Mantis Level 3 Solo Brute
Large Natural Beast XP 750

Initiative +5 Senses Perception +7
HP 184; Bloodied 92
AC 17; Fortitude 18, Reflex 19, Will 14
Saving Throws +5
Speed 6, fly 6 (hover)
Action Points 2

[FONT=D&D 4e icons]M[/FONT] Claw Drag (Standard; at-will)
Reach 2; attack +6 vs. AC; 1d6+4 damage; on hit Mantis may slide target
1 square

[FONT=D&D 4e icons]m[/FONT] Bite (Standard; at-will)
Attack +6 vs. AC; 1d8+3 damage; on hit target is dazed (save ends)

[FONT=D&D 4e icons]m[/FONT] Double Claw & Bite (Standard; at-will)
Mantis makes 2 Claw Drag attacks at the same target; if both hit it may
make an immediate Bite attack against the same target

[FONT=D&D 4e icons]c[/FONT] Beating Wings (Standard; recharge [FONT=D&D 4e icons]56[/FONT]) ♦ thunder
Close Blast 5; attack +4 vs. Reflex; 2d6+1 thunder damage; on hit target
is pushed 2 squares and knocked prone; Mantis may shift up to 3 squares
before or after this attack

[FONT=D&D 4e icons]c[/FONT] Frightful Presence (Standard; encounter) ♦ fear
Burst 5; attack +4 vs. Will; on hit target is immobilised (save ends); after
effect target takes a -2 penalty to attack rolls (save ends)

Retaliatory Swipe (Immediate Reaction; at-will)
If hit by a melee attack Mantis may make an immediate Claw Drag attack
against the attacker

Alignment Unaligned
Skills athletics +9, perception +7, stealth +10
Str 16 (+4) Dex 18 (+5) Wis 12 (+2)
Con 14 (+3) Int 10 (+1) Cha 8 (+0)


As I said I tried to keep as close to your original as possible, though being a Mantis it should really have some sort of grab attack in there somewhere, but I added the slide effect to the Claw Drag and the shifting to the Beating Wings attack to try and keep things moving around during the fight.

 

[Mengu]

That's a well built critter Mesh Hong.

I think some for your figures are a little out, I get HPs and defences to be slightly different to yours (though you may just be tailoring this to your group).

Just to note, he didn't create the creature from scratch, it seems he reskinned a young white dragon, changed some keywords, shuffled around defenses, etc. That's why the numbers seem a bit off, but they are on par with the young white dragon which is a level 3 brute solo.

 

[kobold]

It is indeed a re-skined 3rd lvl White Dragon. Actually I just ended up replacing the Mantis with the Dragon.
Hong's Mantis is impresive and will see use in another section of the adventure.
Thanks for all the help

That's a well built critter Mesh Hong.



Just to note, he didn't create the creature from scratch, it seems he reskinned a young white dragon, changed some keywords, shuffled around defenses, etc. That's why the numbers seem a bit off, but they are on par with the young white dragon which is a level 3 brute solo.

 

[cjais]

The signature ability of preying mantises is that they grab the prey, then bite their heads off. I'd build it around the cave bear entry. Two claws, if both hit then the target is grabbed. Against a grabbed target, it can make a bite attack (i.e. on the next round).
This also makes the fight more exciting, as the characters try to push the critter when it has grabbed a target, to let it go.

Toss in a bloodied mechanic - maybe it tries to escape and reposition when bloodied - and you're almost there. Don't be afraid to load up on abilities when it comes to Solos, the more stuff it can do, the less boring the fight will be.