Lord Maw - Keep on the Shadowfell Boss

[Nebulous]

Ok, i spent the morning working on my boss monster. This is the first 4e baddie i've done, although it's not 100% from scratch. I'm putting it here for your comments,and to have it picked apart by the flaws i'm sure are there. This is just for a home game though, nothing else. I can honestly say that monsters in 4e are very, very fun to make.

Personally, i think he's badass. Maybe slightly too badass. I took a monster from the Shadowfell expansion, called Maw, and his two powers were Claw of Kalarel and Speed of the Dead, which he could use continually. I made those Encounter powers instead, added an Elite template to Maw, and then spliced him with the 2nd edition inquisitor. I also slapped a magic item on him that will probably just piss off clerics and paladins.

Technically, i don't think he's supposed to have TWO encounter powers, but i liked them both so much i couldn't decide. To possibly balance it (assuming it's too strong), i could take away an Action Point, or drop his Defenses (they're elevated +2 because he's elite) or drop his Saving Throw bonus. Or, just leave it as it is. I think in a fight with lots of zombie minions around he will be a terrifying foe with unpredictable powers.

And i don't know what the XP for him would be. I don't use XP in my games so didn't bother to calculate it.

 

[Beren024]

Inquisitor Nightmares

OH GOD!! I thought I would never see that leering face again. Wasn't he the one that nearly wiped us all out in the Rook's Roost? And Adam cleaned out a wand of lightning bolts trying to kill him off?

 

[fissionessence]

I would put a recharge back on the claw of orcus and speed of the damned. He's not too over the top and those two powers are really cool and tactical. I'm pretty disappointed that you took away Maw's ability to raise zombies.

Looks pretty fun, though

~

 

[Nebulous]

OH GOD!! I thought I would never see that leering face again. Wasn't he the one that nearly wiped us all out in the Rook's Roost? And Adam cleaned out a wand of lightning bolts trying to kill him off?

Heh, heh, you de-lurking, Z?

Yeah, that's the same inquisitor from many moons ago, sometime in 2nd edition. I thought it would be a nostalgic monster for the old group to meet again. And yes, i believe a wand of lightning bolts rammed down the inquisitor's throat is what finished it off. Good memory there, i'd forgotten that.

I would put a recharge back on the claw of orcus and speed of the damned. He's not too over the top and those two powers are really cool and tactical. I'm pretty disappointed that you took away Maw's ability to raise zombies.

Looks pretty fun, though

Hmm. Recharge, hadn't even thought about that. Considering that they were originally at-will powers relegated to encounter, having a recharge mechanic might be good. But what? 5-6? I'm not sure how recharge powers are balanced.

I could easily add Maw's ability to raise zombies back, but his list of powers is getting REALLY long. I don't know if that's a bad thing or not, but that's generally not how 4e critters have been statted. Already this inquisitor has more powers than either the 2e original or a 4e elite.

Maybe someone else can offer some insight. Thanks for the recharge idea, that's great.

EDIT: If i did add the Spawn Zombie encounter power, i think i would have to drop his AC and Defense bonuses and his Saving Throw bonus. I would keep the Action Point though, it's just too damn useful.

 

[fissionessence]

Hmm. Recharge, hadn't even thought about that. Considering that they were originally at-will powers relegated to encounter, having a recharge mechanic might be good. But what? 5-6? I'm not sure how recharge powers are balanced.

Yeah, I'd probably do 5 or 6 on both. Or, if you didn't want to have them recharge at the same time, you could make one 3 or 4 and the other one 5 or 6. There would be more of a chance that a power would recharge assuming they were both expended at the time of the recharge roll, but they wouldn't both become available at the same time.

If i did add the Spawn Zombie encounter power, i think i would have to drop his AC and Defense bonuses and his Saving Throw bonus. I would keep the Action Point though, it's just too damn useful.

You don't have to do anything you don't want to do! Giving a monster another power isn't as bad as giving it another action, for example; the monster still has to spend its turn using the new power you gave it, which means an opportunity cost to do anything else, like an attack. Unless you think the monster is becoming too powerful for your party to have a chance against, anything goes, IMO. Especially if you're not using XP!

And as far as a long list of powers . . . you should see the monsters I make Some of them just tend to go on and on. Of course, that may reveal a bit of bias from my opinion, but I don't think there's anything wrong with a monster having a laundry list of interesting options to keep the party guessing.

~

 

[Nebulous]

Yeah, I'd probably do 5 or 6 on both. Or, if you didn't want to have them recharge at the same time, you could make one 3 or 4 and the other one 5 or 6. There would be more of a chance that a power would recharge assuming they were both expended at the time of the recharge roll, but they wouldn't both become available at the same time.

I would probably keep it 5-6, but roll separately. More bookkeeping though.

You don't have to do anything you don't want to do! Giving a monster another power isn't as bad as giving it another action, for example; the monster still has to spend its turn using the new power you gave it, which means an opportunity cost to do anything else, like an attack. Unless you think the monster is becoming too powerful for your party to have a chance against, anything goes, IMO. Especially if you're not using XP!

Well, i agree, but in the case of the zombies, that can be four attacks on someone using one action. But that all depends on positioning and luck. I really don't think Maw is too powerful for a group of five 2nd level characters. In fact, without the minions he would be TOAST. It really depends on how the Fear works, if he can paralyze someone enough for zombies to grab and grind them, etc.

The object of the fight is to make it as frightening as the original battle with the inquisitor, when it was just a solo monster back in 2e. He scared the absolute bejeezus out of the players.

And as far as a long list of powers . . . you should see the monsters I make Some of them just tend to go on and on. Of course, that may reveal a bit of bias from my opinion, but I don't think there's anything wrong with a monster having a laundry list of interesting options to keep the party guessing.

~

I agree! I've noticed that the 4e monster manual really, really shies away from a "laundry list of powers." That was a design goal, one i don't necessarily like though. Nor do i like the lack of descriptive text in the entires, but that's a complaint for another thread.

Thanks for the input.

 

[fissionessence]

If you're not sure exactly how the battle would play out, just write in the zombie summoning power but keep it in reserves. If it looks like the battle is going to be too easy or quick, have him use the power. If, a few rounds later, you're still not happy with how non-frightening the encounter has been, have him use it again! On the other hand, if things are going great without it, just pretend it was never there.

~

 

[Nebulous]

If you're not sure exactly how the battle would play out, just write in the zombie summoning power but keep it in reserves. If it looks like the battle is going to be too easy or quick, have him use the power. If, a few rounds later, you're still not happy with how non-frightening the encounter has been, have him use it again! On the other hand, if things are going great without it, just pretend it was never there.

~

Bingo. We're on the same page. The players don't know what's going on anyway, so long as they're A) challenged B) scared C) most likely win despite the daunting horrific slobbering odds