Ranged combat, or the lack of....

[babinro]

I really like McNathan80's idea. That would be really cool to do...I think I'll try and design something like that for a future boss. Thanks!

 

[Rafe]

I think the answer is to design the encounter, rather than just pick a monster. There are many terrain features that can be added to a battlefield that will allow better tactics than "stand in the open and make a ranged basic attack".

Bingo. Also, the environment would alter the way the encounter progresses. Simply put, allow the heroes a place in which to trap the dragon, stopping him from flying. That said, don't neutralize the dragon's abilities. The environment will make all the difference: you can either mess up the players or give them a chance.

 

[LostSoul]

You could always try to taunt the dragon into coming down to fight you in melee. Intimidate or something vs. Will, add in a nice bonus if the dragon's not an arrogant bastard, and on success the dragon falls "prone".

 

[Regicide]

In 4E there is an invisible wall at 30 squares that missiles can't go beyond. The expectation is that if your party is ranged-weak, and many are, that they can simply close the distance in a couple rounds and be in melee.

The flying dragon is the exception to the 4E expectation that meleers can always melee. Your players should either a) learn to run away from fights they can't handle, b) figure out a way to get it into melee range, c) convince the dragon that they aren't very good eating, d) die.

 

[ValhallaGH]

In 4E there is an invisible wall at 30 squares that missiles can't go beyond.

Wha ... ?

The longbow is a 20/40 range, and far shot bumps that out to 25/45.
Sure, most ranged weapons don't go past 30, but the iconic one does. Heck, it's the only means I'm aware of to snipe the Tarrasque while flying (assuming you can fly above 40 squares).

 

[mcnathan80]

I really like McNathan80's idea. That would be really cool to do...I think I'll try and design something like that for a future boss. Thanks!

Happy to help, in fact a good 80-90% of my gaming ideas come from video games

 

[outsider]

Rangers at least have a way to bring down flyers(I imagine most ranged characters can do it some way or another). Once the flyer is down, the fighter should use his stickiness to prevent it from getting airborne again.

Ranger powers that can be used to ground a flying foe(whether via knocking them prone or immobilizing them):
Pinning Strike
Great Ram Arrow
Knockdown Shot

The earliest you can get any of these is level 13, but flyers have always been rough at low levels. I'd be surprised if neither the wizard nor the warlock can pick up a power that will ground a flyer by level 6 though. They might not have thought of doing so, but it is a really good idea when half of your group is melee.

 

[NaturalZero]

Happy to help, in fact a good 80-90% of my gaming ideas come from video games

While not nearly as cool as a God of War step-by-step battle, the first thing that sprang to mind was fighting dragons in Monster Hunter. There you almost never could fight the big beasts toe to toe but instead had to pick your terrain, lay traps and ambush the dragon, possibly multiple times. Its a bit of a change from the straigtht up brawls in other MMORPGs since you really had to be strategic and clever.

Rangers at least have a way to bring down flyers(I imagine most ranged characters can do it some way or another). Once the flyer is down, the fighter should use his stickiness to prevent it from getting airborne again.

Its too bad they dont have a swordmage with Lightning Lure. It would be pretty cool to "harpoon" the thing and drag it down into melee range.

It would also be pretty entertaining if the fighter could manage to grab the thing. By RAW, i dont think the dragon could lift him off the ground without winning his check.

 

[Ahglock]

Wha ... ?

The longbow is a 20/40 range, and far shot bumps that out to 25/45.
Sure, most ranged weapons don't go past 30, but the iconic one does. Heck, it's the only means I'm aware of to snipe the Tarrasque while flying (assuming you can fly above 40 squares).

Yes, your nitpick is correct. The invisible wall is 45 squares. And its around 3 rounds of movement to close the gap, 4 rounds if the target is backing up 6 squares each round on its move action. With the various common movement enhancing effects in 3e and previous editions while the distance numbers may be different, the rounds to close remain roughly the same.

 

[Gort]

Yes, your nitpick is correct. The invisible wall is 45 squares. And its around 3 rounds of movement to close the gap, 4 rounds if the target is backing up 6 squares each round on its move action. With the various common movement enhancing effects in 3e and previous editions while the distance numbers may be different, the rounds to close remain roughly the same.

Assuming you're ignoring terrain, of course. I remember a fight in one of the Dragon magazine modules that takes place in a very muddy town square in a downpour, which is difficult terrain virtually everywhere. This effectively doubles the range of missile weapons as it takes twice as long to reach them.

In any case, being able to shoot someone at 225 feet distance as though they were standing five feet away is ridiculous enough for me. Bowfire really isn't that accurate against single man-sized targets.