Struggling with Swordmage //Questions about monster

[Dragonblade]

First off, if you are using a module or monsters that predate MM3, you need to boost their damage based on WotC errata. I recommend around +5 damage per attack per tier as a good rule of thumb that you can use on the fly to boost your monsters.

Secondly, remember that Encounter powers can only be used once per encounter, and Immediate actions (whether interrupts or reactions) can only be used once per turn.

Thirdly, there is no shame in boosting the encounter difficulty to suit your players. Hell, all encounter balance in AD&D was pretty much based on DM experience and eye-balling things. Its only in 3e and 4e where for some bizarre reason people feel like they must strictly adhere to the CR or encounter guidelines. Thats absurd. If your players are optimized badasses, then boost the monsters to compensate. A good rule of thumb is that +1 level to a monster adds +1 to all attacks and defenses. Remember my previous rule of thumb about boosting damage as well for pre-MM3 monster stats. As soon as you boost a Heroic monster to Paragon, they should do +10 damage on all attacks, auras, etc.

Also for purposes of defender's marking multiple targets, I rule that as long as a monster attack is encapsulated within a single action, and as long as it includes the defender, then their mark doesn't come into play even if that monster's attack targets multiple PC's.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

First off, if you are using a module or monsters that predate MM3, you need to boost their damage based on WotC errata. I recommend around +5 damage per attack per tier as a good rule of thumb that you can use on the fly to boost your monsters.

Secondly, remember that Encounter powers can only be used once per encounter, and Immediate actions (whether interrupts or reactions) can only be used once per turn.

Thirdly, there is no shame in boosting the encounter difficulty to suit your players. Hell, all encounter balance in AD&D was pretty much based on DM experience and eye-balling things. Its only in 3e and 4e where for some bizarre reason people feel like they must strictly adhere to the CR or encounter guidelines. Thats absurd. If your players are optimized badasses, then boost the monsters to compensate. A good rule of thumb is that +1 level to a monster adds +1 to all attacks and defenses. Remember my previous rule of thumb about boosting damage as well for pre-MM3 monster stats. As soon as you boost a Heroic monster to Paragon, they should do +10 damage on all attacks, auras, etc.

Also for purposes of defender's marking multiple targets, I rule that as long as a monster attack is encapsulated within a single action, and as long as it includes the defender, then their mark doesn't come into play even if that monster's attack targets multiple PC's.

Yeah, Level+8 average damage is a good rule, with 'limited' attacks doing +25% and brutes doing up to +50%. Obviously you can eyeball from there when you have effects and multi-target attacks, etc. A good solid hit from most MM3 monsters will probably come close to bloodying a medium hit point PC. So, for instance a level 1 monster should do something like 1d8+4 with an at-will single-target melee/ranged attack. A nice 11 damage hit would bloody most wizards, but probably wouldn't bloody a rogue, cleric or warlord, and definitely wouldn't bloody most defenders at level 1. Since damage goes up by about 1 point per level and hit points at more like 6 per level clearly things level off some. OTOH most monsters at higher levels have wider damage ranges and more potent limited attacks.

 

[Phototoxin]

I've tried to find these erratas but have struggled. I'm using madness at gardmore abbey don't know if it's modified.
What I do know is that the gargoyles (lvl 9 lurkers) are broken - they can go into stone form, gain resist all 25, regen 5 temp hp a turn and then ***+20*** to their next damage roll which seems bent

 

[Wednesday Boy]

I'm using madness at gardmore abbey don't know if it's modified.

Madness at Gardmore Abbey has the updated monster damage.

 

[Scrivener of Doom]

I've tried to find these erratas but have struggled. I'm using madness at gardmore abbey don't know if it's modified.
What I do know is that the gargoyles (lvl 9 lurkers) are broken - they can go into stone form, gain resist all 25, regen 5 temp hp a turn and then ***+20*** to their next damage roll which seems bent

It's not bent or broken.

They have to spend a standard action to do this which means forgoing an attack they would otherwise make with that standard action for about 20 points of damage. Also, temporary hit points don't stack so the most they can have when they transform back is 5.

And, yes, resist 25 all is very high but, at the same time, they are unable to threaten adjacent spaces which means no opportunity attacks. They are also unable to move which means the party can simply retreat to a certain distance and fire off ranged attacks when the gargoyles change back.

However, if you do want to make it really nasty, the demonic acolyte template from the first 4E DMG allows a monster to share its resistances with its allies. Toss a gargoyle demonic acolyte in as a leader and give all the other 'goyles resist 25 all.

 

[Phototoxin]

However, if you do want to make it really nasty, the demonic acolyte template from the first 4E DMG allows a monster to share its resistances with its allies. Toss a gargoyle demonic acolyte in as a leader and give all the other 'goyles resist 25 all.

Touché! I'm the worst min/max-er ever.

 

[sigfile]

Somewhere along the line someone thought it was a good idea to have lurkers be the guys dealing absurd spike damage. The Doppelganger Infiltrator is my favorite example. I'm not a fan - this is "Orc with a greataxe and a lucky crit = instant character death" material.

 

[Scrivener of Doom]

[MENTION=64646]sigfile[/MENTION]: It's not like the orc with a great axe.

It's two rounds worth of actions in order to generate the possibility of two rounds worth of damage. There's not spike, per se, because there's been a round of 0 damage and 0 opportunity attacks leading to a round where a successful hit will achieve approximately double damage (and with no chance of a critical on half that damage).

 

[Storminator]

heh. I once made a lurker that perfectly fit the theme of powers I wanted. It was only at the table that I realized a nasty recharge power and gargoyle stone form are a really powerful combo.

PS

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

@sigfile : It's not like the orc with a great axe.

It's two rounds worth of actions in order to generate the possibility of two rounds worth of damage. There's not spike, per se, because there's been a round of 0 damage and 0 opportunity attacks leading to a round where a successful hit will achieve approximately double damage (and with no chance of a critical on half that damage).

Exactly, and with most lurkers once they blow that attack they either have to disengage somehow and then re-engage again the next (at best) round to get it again, or in some cases they're pretty much just SOL after their one blaze of glory. Honestly, most lurkers are pretty non-threatening to a party that uses decent tactics, but there are some really nasty ones and if you work things just right you can get some good mileage out of many of them.