[NPC Optimization] How best to make a mounted combatant? (My players stay out!)

[rkanodia]

For my money:

Mounted Combat
Ride-by Attack
Spirited Charge
Trample
Cavalry Charger (from Complete Warrior)
Combat Reflexes

I think Cavalry Charger will end up being surprisingly powerful. Against a single target, your level 16 character should have no trouble passing the DC 20 Ride check for 4 extra points of damage with Leaping Charge... with a lance, that's a nice big +12 damage. If the PCs are nice enough to line up, Fell Trample (you may attempt to overrun multiple targets while mounted) will own the bejeezus out of them, since the mount makes the Strength check to knock them over. It gets an attack (at +4) against each opponent you knock over, and you'll both get attacks of opportunity as they rise (depending on your choice of weapons).

Also, don't forget to get 5 ranks of Handle Animal for the synergy bonus to Ride checks, and don't forget to use Mounted Combat every round!

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

Someone else suggested a Spellsword/sorceror. I think that's a good idea. Taking it a bit further, how about:

Ftr 2/Sorceror 4/Spellsword 10 (Complete Warrior)
That lets him cast 4th level arcane spells, gives him a +14 BAB, and decent hit points.

Now, give him the Improved Familiar Feat (Complete Warrior again) and let him have the dragon as his familiar. (It's not strictly allowed but it's not beyond the imagination either--Complete Warrior allows for Winter Wolves as Improved Familiars, etc). Now, he can share spells with his master and is eligible for Enhance Familiar (CW again--not that it's so spiffy at 16th level).

Feats: 2 fighter, 5 for levels, one for Spellsword: Mounted Combat, Ride By Attack, Spirited Charge, Combat Reflexes, Expert Tactician, Weapon Focus: lance, Power Attack, Quickdraw.

One of his 4th level spells is Enervation and he has a rod of empower or maximize spell. He has stored two empowered enervations in his lance via spellsword channel. He also has a Spellstoring Lance with a Ray of Exhaustion (Vampiric Touch or Ray of Enfeeblement would work too) stored in it. He also has a suit of mithral fullplate and a mithral buckler (no spell failure because he's a spellsword). He also has a ring of counterspells or two (Greater Dispelling). If you want, he could have two spellstoring lances and since he gets multiple spell channels per day, he could easily begin combat with two enervations channeled into each lance.

If he has time to prepare, he can Share Spells to give his mount Blink (an excellent defensive spell that helps on offense--especially since he has enough feats for Combat Reflexes and Expert Tactician (Song and Silence)). Since they would both be blinking at the same time, he could use it and still remain mounted. He can also share spells to give his mount Mirror Image (it combines nicely with blink and is good defense for a melee wizard). Right before he attacks, he can share a fire shield with his mount too--it's not a lot at high levels but 1d6+9 is still noticable. He'll probably want to share a Fly spell with his mount too so that his mount can take advantage of good manueverability.

His real trick will be deadly mounted charges though. He'll be able to charge for an attack at 3d6+(3x bonusses)+1.5(1d4) negative levels+ray of exhaustion or ray of enfeeblement and then attack again if he finishes the charge threatening a foe--this time for 1d6+bonus+1.5(1d4) negative levels.

If you go for the two lance trick, he'll be able to do the exact same thing next turn. On the third turn, he'll be able to spend a move action to use his last channel spell to put another Enervation into the lance and charge once more, delivering his last channeled enervation along with a lot of damage. If he focusses a lot of his attacks on one target, he might want to wait until he's hit a target with two or three enervations before unleashing any spells with saves that are stored in his weapon. That would help to ensure that the spells actually had optimum effect.

 

[Pax]

I think a Paladin of Tyrrany (LE) / Blackguard would be a nice mixture, especially for a melee-charger type.

A kobold on a Medium-sized Shadow Dragon, with those stats ... *eep* ...

The oldest Size-M shadow dragon is Young Adult -- 16d12+32 HD (136hp), Attributes 17/10/15/18/18/19, BAB/Grapple +16/+19, saves +12/+10/+14, breath weapon for 2 negative levels (reflex DC22 for half; CONE area), frightful presence DC22; move 80'/land and 150'/fly (poor); AC29, DR 5/magic, mirror image 3/day, immune to energy drain, casts as Sor(3), SR20, can disappear into shadows in any illumination less than full daylight (gains total concealment, (Su)pernatural ability).

That's just off the LA chart, btw (juvenile is +4; I'd guess YA to be +5, based on the pattern - and the fact that that'd just top it over the ECL20/21 boundary).

Or you could go with a Tarterian dragon (just a wyrmling, even - Tarties are BIG, they hatch out MAN-SIZED - 8HD, +4 LA). Tarterian dragons have a line of [force] as their breath weapon, and a constant racial Freedom of Movement effect.

Or ... hmm, it'd leave you less levels to play with, but ... what about a Kobold Death Knight, riding a Dracolich ... ?!?

 

[rkanodia]

Basilisk, you are evil beyond belief. But then, I guess if I had Piratecat's players, I would appreciate that kind of reckless malice. Greater invisibility and stoneskin will help your guy wade into combat with less worry than is typical for a 'one big baddy' fight, which is sort of what a mounted opponent is.

edit: I just remembered the marshal and the sorceror, so it's not really a one-big-baddy sort of fight. Piratecat, when the papers go flying, you could assign partial concealment from the storm of papers. Then have the sorceror summon a swarm of bees or bats or something to add to the general chaos and confusion.

 

[Piratecat]

You guys fill me with utter joy. Thank you.

Take time out for maniacal laughter while spells bounce off the Spell Resistance and Unholy Aura. Heal self when necessary. Let the PC's Greater Dispel Magic bounce off your Ring of Counterspells.

The 19th lvl psionic wilder is actually fulfilling this role. She's the nominal leader and the highest of the group of bad guys, and holy crap on a stick, she's hard to kill. Assuming she goes into the fight fully buffed, she:

- Has an AC of 51. Naked. Not that she is naked, mind you, but it's still a cool AC.

- Has a SR of 31.

- Has fast healing 10 and can heal an additional 11d12 (avg 71 hp) when she needs to.

- Is deadly to actually attack. The first person attacking her each round takes 24d6 electricity, DC 30 reflex for half. Everyone attacking her in a round takes up to 23 hp damage (or the same damage they do, whichever is lower), no save.

- Can lay someone low with 6d4 charisma damage. (This might stun her in combat, though.)

- Attacks three times a round with her scythe at +33/+28/+23, doing 2d4+26 (18-20, x4) dmg.

To paraphrase an old Paranoia ad, she's a one trick pony, but it's a really good trick. She's the person directing the others. I want to make this fight against a handful of powerful adversaries -- and I find I keep adding people! I'm going to have to either scale back or use the extras as wussy bad guys who die easily.

I won't be sad if the powerful people escape and become reoccurring enemies.

 

[shilsen]

The 19th lvl psionic wilder is actually fulfilling this role. She's the nominal leader and the highest of the group of bad guys, and holy crap on a stick, she's hard to kill. Assuming she goes into the fight fully buffed, she:

- Has an AC of 51. Naked. Not that she is naked, mind you, but it's still a cool AC.

- Has a SR of 31.

- Has fast healing 10 and can heal an additional 11d12 (avg 71 hp) when she needs to.

- Is deadly to actually attack. The first person attacking her each round takes 24d6 electricity, DC 30 reflex for half. Everyone attacking her in a round takes up to 23 hp damage (or the same damage they do, whichever is lower), no save.

- Can lay someone low with 6d4 charisma damage. (This might stun her in combat, though.)

- Attacks three times a round with her scythe at +33/+28/+23, doing 2d4+26 (18-20, x4) dmg.

To paraphrase an old Paranoia ad, she's a one trick pony, but it's a really good trick.

I think I'm in love

 

[Piratecat]

I think I'm in love

The lovely thing about getting to design these high-lvl NPCs is that I can give them a ton of history and backstory to excuse the fact that they're ludicrously high levels. That's fun for me!

Not that anyone asked, but here's the wilder's backstory. I'll do something similar for our mounted combatant:

Dalga the Unslayable was a powerful planar enforcer and bounty hunter who was raised in the streets of Sigil. She is a Maenad, but she had no idea of her heritage or her parentage. She turned from prostitution in the Hive Ward after something inside of her snapped while being beaten up by a customer. She swore that no one would ever hurt her and be unpunished again. She's kept her promise.

Taken in by the Sign of One, a faction that taught her the fine points of self-sufficiency, she teamed up with others to make her living as a planar bounty hunter. She's very hard to hurt, and while she tries not to hurt anyone but her prescribed targets she doesn't lose sleep over dispatching innocents in the process. She lives for her wild surges; they're the only thing that truly makes her feel alive, so she gears up for an ambush ahead of time and maxes out all of the powers that she can. She'd much rather be over-prepared and riding a surging high than allow a victim a fair fight.

She's older now, scarred and largely retired, but she still hires out for jobs that pay especially handsomely. She secretly misses adventuring, and misses it badly. She feels like she's frittering away her old age, and looks for opportunities to jump back into a more dangerous lifestyle once again.

 

[silentspace]

PC, you're such a sweetie! Frustrating your PCs by making something hard to kill is so much nicer than making something that kills them

That scythe damage bonus is pretty big though, maybe she will kill them!

 

[Thanee]

Those PCs better are immune to criticals!

How comes, that the threat range is so high, tho?

Bye
Thanee

 

[Darklone]

Those PCs better are immune to criticals?

How comes, that the threat range is so high, tho?

Bye
Thanee

Smells like a keen and imp crit stack houserule