4th Edition and the Immortals Handbook

[beej]

Hey U_K!

If you're only after the stats, and none of the nice DM fluff that comes with the books, then I suggest DnD Insider. Their Compendium is regularly updated; all the monsters printed so far are there.

The exception is Tiamat. They can't upload her stats because of the way her five heads are formatted, according to them. but last time I checked, Kyuss and Vecna were alredy there.

But to clarify; no, he doesn't get four standard actions in the same way that Tiamat gets five. Unlike Tiamat, though, he can regain action points when he brings someone down to 0. He will thus have a tendency to focus on one person to the exclusion of everyone else.

Of particular interest to me is his aura. It deals more damage than Orcus's (a brute, no less), and it is also very leader-ish in that it can heal undead. He'd be interesting with undead minions.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hey UK!

Hello again!

Vecna: I think he has his 1 standard action per round, he just starts with 4 action points instead of 2 like usual...is that what you wanted to know? Also, yes, he has the Necrotic Webs ability to make permanent (until end of encounter) 3' by 3' zones that are treated as difficult terrain and if ended in deals an ongoing 20 necrotic damage and the target is restrained.

I thought I read somewhere that he gets four attacks, and I couldn't fathom why he would get four touch attacks (or whatever).

I suppose I just picked up on the 4 action points wrong.

Kyuss: He is stupidly powerfull (in a good way)! Did I mention that he takes half damage from melee and ranged attacks?

No, that is tough, especially for a solo monster.

In designing angels I have been trying to keep solo monsters to a minimum, otherwise you can start making a case for why every monster of that level could be a solo monster.

I think its primarily the main unique critters that get solo treatment, the others get limited to Elite, though I may bend that rule for the Seraphim (who really seem solo-y) and maybe one or two others.

Mual-Tar: He is a L35 Solo Brute that has an aura that strips thunder and lightning resistance and deals 25 of said damage. Other than that he is pretty standard as far as high level solos go in that he deals high damage (mostly in the form of thunder and lightning). In looks, just imagine a gargantuan worm with wings of lightning.

Still sounds interesting though. First time I ever wanted to have Insider.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hey U_K!

Ahoy there beej matey!

If you're only after the stats, and none of the nice DM fluff that comes with the books, then I suggest DnD Insider. Their Compendium is regularly updated; all the monsters printed so far are there.

I dunno...I like my books...and I was planning to get them all anyway.

The exception is Tiamat. They can't upload her stats because of the way her five heads are formatted, according to them. but last time I checked, Kyuss and Vecna were alredy there.

Thanks but I'll wait for the books.

But to clarify; no, he doesn't get four standard actions in the same way that Tiamat gets five. Unlike Tiamat, though, he can regain action points when he brings someone down to 0. He will thus have a tendency to focus on one person to the exclusion of everyone else.

Just as long as your PC isn't the one right.

Of particular interest to me is his aura. It deals more damage than Orcus's (a brute, no less), and it is also very leader-ish in that it can heal undead. He'd be interesting with undead minions.

It does seem very damaging. I wonder if there is any rhyme or reason behind the amount they assign to auras?

I would have probably suggested a base of 1/2 Level rounded down to the nearest multiple of 5 per portfolio (maximum 4 between levels 46-50).

Vecna is Level 44 (Standard monster equivalent of 35 Solo) suggesting he's incidently on his third portfolio. So a potential 60 damage isn't out of possibility. Although he does also heal undead too.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hey all!

May have to curtail the ambition of the forthcoming angels feature within the new 4E Gods & Monsters pdf.

Not only is the sheer volume of stuff ridiculous, but I sort of get the impression a large slice of it may not get used and basically just be 'for fun'.

If you take a look at the 3E Epic Bestiary I did, you might think I had a fairly good understanding of the angelic hierarchy. You'd be wrong. This new hierarchy just totally blows it out of the water...or should that be out of the aether.

Case in point, you may remember the Cherubim, well they are only halfway up the new table...and I should point out its a DOUBLE table with both common types AND esoteric orders of Angels with entries so obscure you Gustav Davidson won't have heard of them.

Okay, so whats the problem? Well, there seems to be a LOT of angelic stuff above Metatron and he's a Level 60 Solo Soldier! I was sort of only planning on taking PCs to about Level 60, and even assuming a ceiling limit for the monsters of about Level 65, I still have 20 planned stat blocks above that!

Technically none of the other planned hierarchies (Umbrals, Inevitables, Intelligibles, Pseudonaturals, Elementars) really extend much past the Level 60 mark...although obviously I'd have one or two ridiculous entries in each volume...but I wan't thinking of having 20 in the first third of the first volume!

Is anyone interested in seeing this stuff statted (Its going to be some crazy 4E beyond Neutronium Golem to the nth power madness) even though its probably never going to get used? Or should I just concentrate on the lower level stuff (which is also brilliant - just not as crazy)?

 

[Ltheb Silverfrond]

U_K!

What kind of question is that? Of course we want to see them. However, I think it would be best if you kept it to the usable (sane?) level range.

Alternately, you could try to condense the angels in level as to fit more in at most ranges.
Example: If your first 4 epic angels were:
A Lvl 30 Elite, a Level 35 Brute, a level 40 Skirmisher, and a Level 45 Solo
You could reduce them to:
A Lvl 30 Elite, a Level 33 Brute, a level 36 Skirmisher, and a Level 39 Solo, etc.
So that instead of just one possible opponent at a given level, there are potentially whole squads.

Either way sounds good, but it might also be best to leave the uppermost tiers as vacant as possible, so when it comes to writing IH4E, you don't write yourself into a mechanical corner. I would like to see the crazy space-time distoring beings you have in store, but I would also like to see a ruleset before the end of the decade.

 

[Alzrius]

U_K, at the risk of going off-topic, have you thought at all about how you'll release your 4E material? I mean, are you planning on going GSL (as it stands now; the people revising it seem to work at the same pace you do), or using a different alternative, such as fair use copyright or posting the 4E stats under the OGL?

I ask because a lot of your 4E stuff will be things not found in any of your 3.5 books, and some of us (such as myself) would be interested in trying our hand at a conversion...ideally in some sort of official capacity (though any particular way would work) and how you publish affects that.

 

[Fieari]

U_K, can I highly recommend getting some playtesters, not just for the monsters, but more particularly for the larger size rules? This is very important to me, because I -love- the idea of fighting really huge things, and since 4e is focused on the actual gameplay, I want to be certain the gameplay is good and fun. I'm sure your regulars here would be happy to help, even just using lvl30 PCs.

 

[paradox42]

U_K, at the risk of going off-topic, have you thought at all about how you'll release your 4E material? I mean, are you planning on going GSL (as it stands now; the people revising it seem to work at the same pace you do), or using a different alternative, such as fair use copyright or posting the 4E stats under the OGL?

I ask because a lot of your 4E stuff will be things not found in any of your 3.5 books, and some of us (such as myself) would be interested in trying our hand at a conversion...ideally in some sort of official capacity (though any particular way would work) and how you publish affects that.

As one of the big winners in the Design An Epic Monster competition, I would also be quite likely to try conversions- even if only for my own use. But contributing towards something semi-official would of course be even better. So as the LOLCats say, This Is Relevant To My Interests.

 

[Upper_Krust]

U_K!

Hey Ltheb mate!

What kind of question is that? Of course we want to see them.

Thats what I thought.

However, I think it would be best if you kept it to the usable (sane?) level range.

This is me remember.

Alternately, you could try to condense the angels in level as to fit more in at most ranges.

I have them so condensed they are on each others shoulders.

Example: If your first 4 epic angels were:
A Lvl 30 Elite, a Level 35 Brute, a level 40 Skirmisher, and a Level 45 Solo
You could reduce them to:
A Lvl 30 Elite, a Level 33 Brute, a level 36 Skirmisher, and a Level 39 Solo, etc.
So that instead of just one possible opponent at a given level, there are potentially whole squads.

Try:

Minion 20
Soldier 22
Elite Skirmisher 23
Minion 23
Minion 24
Brute 24
Controller 25
Elite Artillery 25
Elite Skirmisher 26
Minion 27
Elite Controller 28
Elite Soldier 30
Solo Soldier 30

Italicised stuff I am not prepared to discuss.

There is about 50% more between Levels 31-40.

...and yes, that is just the angels. Therer are four abominations in there too.

Either way sounds good, but it might also be best to leave the uppermost tiers as vacant as possible, so when it comes to writing IH4E, you don't write yourself into a mechanical corner. I would like to see the crazy space-time distoring beings you have in store, but I would also like to see a ruleset before the end of the decade.

Does that mean I have ten years or just one?

 

[Upper_Krust]

Howdy Alzrius matey!

U_K, at the risk of going off-topic, have you thought at all about how you'll release your 4E material?

To be honest I haven't decided yet.

I mean, are you planning on going GSL (as it stands now; the people revising it seem to work at the same pace you do),

Okay, I shouldn't have laughed at that but I did anyway.

or using a different alternative, such as fair use copyright or posting the 4E stats under the OGL?

Thats certainly a possibility. But I still need to look into it more, which I haven't yet done.

Who else has done this to date? I remember you bringing up the idea about a month or so ago.

I ask because a lot of your 4E stuff will be things not found in any of your 3.5 books, and some of us (such as myself) would be interested in trying our hand at a conversion...ideally in some sort of official capacity (though any particular way would work) and how you publish affects that.

That was (pre-GSL) always my plan. But isn't it a bit of a legal quagmire at the moment?