Dracolich
The dracolich also has numerous stun powers, is that how it makes up for it's lack of actions?
The Blackfire Dracolich copes with his personal lack of actions by depriving everyone else of theirs.
-O
Obryn
Hero
That's what I was saying. As-written, it's an intensely hard and annoying fight for most groups.
Stun is deadly. And, for many players, it's very irritating.
EDIT: As an example, check out its Mesmerizing Gaze. This is an interrupt against a melee character. It has a strong potential to take out the party's primary melee combatant for the entire fight. And it's a Close Blast, so there's a chance of getting others in the fun, too.
And take a look at his Defenses. Now, take a look at the aftereffect of Frightful Presence. Then, take a look at what happens on Mesmerizing Gaze even on a Miss. Yes, the Dracolich - even if he fails to stun that melee warrior - will probably have an effective AC of 43. This is insane for a L21 solo.
If anything, he's a bit overpowered and probably one of the least enjoyable fights your players will ever experience.
-O
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Dracolich is my pick for the single worst-designed monster in 4e. My recommendation would honestly be to rebuild it from scratch using the guidelines in DMG2, and if you want to get really fancy, maybe double its static damage like they did for most monsters in MM3. Give it a big scary recharge necrotic breath weapon and a few minor action attacks and you'll almost certainly have a better monster than the dracolich.
Frankly, I couldn't design something less fun to fight than the dracolich if I tried.
Frankly, I couldn't design something less fun to fight than the dracolich if I tried.
Obryn
Hero
I dunno. Azer (Azers? Azen? Azii?) are some strong competition, there.
Well, I guess PCs will have fun beating up on them. The DM, OTOH, will die of boredom.
But yeah, the Dracolich is a big, yawning, ball of suck. It may kill your party - but they will hate you for it, being able to do nothing but watch as their PCs are stunlocked and impotent round after round.
-O
Festivus
First Post
Speaking as a player who has faced one before, let me tell you that it totally sucks and is really annoying. I think it would be more fun all around to rebuild him as 3 or 4 "creatures", with separate initiatives and hit points. So you do suffcient damage to it's legs it can no longer use it's claw type attacks, or chop off it's tail and it can no longer swipe. Cut off it's head and it can't roar (although perhaps the body continues to live).
My group is just about to come face to face with the final form of a dragon who has been a threat in the campaign for quite some time. I'm planning to give them the option of facing his undead form (Dracolich) or living form (Ancient White Dragon), along with insights to figure out what they are capable of (Stunning from the Dracolich, massive damage from the Dragon).
I'm pretty confident they will, hands down, choose the dragon. No one wants to deal with stuns. Given he was a pretty dangerous enemy to start from, and I'll be updating him with the new MM3 brute guidelines, I'm hoping to leave several PCs in the dust by the end of the fight - and yet, I suspect they'll still prefer that battle to the sheer number of stuns the Draconlich can unleash...
I'm pretty confident they will, hands down, choose the dragon. No one wants to deal with stuns. Given he was a pretty dangerous enemy to start from, and I'll be updating him with the new MM3 brute guidelines, I'm hoping to leave several PCs in the dust by the end of the fight - and yet, I suspect they'll still prefer that battle to the sheer number of stuns the Draconlich can unleash...
Yeah stun is retarded and shouldn't have been included in this game. Won't be surprised if it is dropped in 5E, which I'm sure will be here in a couple of years.
I think stun is fine when used sparingly. Most dragons can stun via Frightful Presence 1/encounter. The dracolich, however, has an at-will immediate interrupt close blast 3 stun, an encounter stun, and a rechargeable close blast 9(!) stun. That's just retarded.
Slow, immobilize, ongoing necrotic damage, push, etc., all could have been used and would have resulted in a much more dynamic monster.
Slow, immobilize, ongoing necrotic damage, push, etc., all could have been used and would have resulted in a much more dynamic monster.
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