D&D 5E 5e Hardcore: Monster Manual
Matrix Sorcica
Hero
Well, the Marillith's is not that sharp either
The problem for me with your wording was that it was unclear on whose turn it would react. But I'm probably just nitpicking
dave2008
Legend
Well, the Marillith's is not that sharp either
The problem for me with your wording was that it was unclear on whose turn it would react. But I'm probably just nitpicking
Well, similar to legendary actions, and reactions in general, I don't know that I want to limit them to only the enemies turns. In fact, the Psychic drained is a reaction on a charmed creatures turn. Is a creature charmed by the aboleth any enemy? I think the word is intentionally left open.
Caliburn101
Explorer
Some great stuff here!
The Primordial Tarrasque needs a lot more thought though.
If swallowed, you have to do 70 damage to have a chance of it regurgitating you - and the save for the Tarrasque is DC 20 Con save - which it has +19 in.... basically you aren't ever getting out.
Also, the Limited Magic Immunity makes spellcasters who primarily attack against it utterly useless - they may as well go home after casting 3 spells - and the likelihood is that those will be saved against anyway. Of course, if you are going to have epic level casters against it, you should warn them to take plenty of extra 9th level spell slots, a lot. Then they might have something to do.
But still, being immune to fire and taking half damage from bludgeoning AND having such good saves... that Meteor Swarm is as often as not only going to do 21 damage... less than it's regeneration.
Personally I would drop one of those, look dumbstruck at the epic lack of effect on the target and leave the area FAST...
The Primordial Tarrasque needs a lot more thought though.
If swallowed, you have to do 70 damage to have a chance of it regurgitating you - and the save for the Tarrasque is DC 20 Con save - which it has +19 in.... basically you aren't ever getting out.
Also, the Limited Magic Immunity makes spellcasters who primarily attack against it utterly useless - they may as well go home after casting 3 spells - and the likelihood is that those will be saved against anyway. Of course, if you are going to have epic level casters against it, you should warn them to take plenty of extra 9th level spell slots, a lot. Then they might have something to do.
But still, being immune to fire and taking half damage from bludgeoning AND having such good saves... that Meteor Swarm is as often as not only going to do 21 damage... less than it's regeneration.
Personally I would drop one of those, look dumbstruck at the epic lack of effect on the target and leave the area FAST...
Last edited:
dave2008
Legend
I did that quite a while ago. Most of these need a 2nd look.
DC same as MM version, but I gave the big T. Con proficiency, which seems thematic to me. I think this is all good, to escape you need to either be really lucky or kill big T. That seems OK to me.
Limited magic immunity is the sames as Tiamat (also CR 30) from RoT. I just combined it with the big T's reflective carapace from the MM. The issue with the MM big T is that you could spam acid spells and take it down. This prevents that. It could probably be revised down some though. I will look at when I get to back to Monstrosities.
Yes, well that is the idea. I would need to check the encounter guidelines, but I am of the opinion that 4 lvl 20 PCs should not normally be able to take down a CR 30 monster.
dave2008
Legend
Sure! I have several oddball mummies already listed, it would makes sense to redo a more typical one as well!
Agreed. I feel like it should be several adventures worth of planning and prep to be able to go toe to toe with such a creature. If your facing something 10 CR higher than you, you should get curb stomped in most cases.
Caliburn101
Explorer
990 HP/ 30HP/round regeneration and 21+4 damage per round each from 4 x 30th level Evoker Wizards dropping Meteor Swarm on the Big T. - who have all taken an extra 9 9th level spells and of course the 24 Int possible with the epic rules.
1st round: 920 HP after 4 Meteor Swarms
2nd round: 850 HP after 8 Meteor Swarms
3rd round: 780 HP after 12 Meteor Swarms
4th round: 710 HP after 16 Meteor Swarms
5th round: 640 HP after 20 Meteor Swarms
6th round: 570 HP after 24 Meteor Swarms
7th round: 500 HP after 28 Meteor Swarms
8th round: 430 HP after 32 Meteor Swarms
9th round: 360 HP after 36 Meteor Swarms
10th round: 290 HP after 40 Meteor Swarms
... and the cabal of the most powerful Wizards of four war-torn worlds seriously think about leaving in which round?
Of course the Big T. will fail to save against the odd one and they might just win actually... but this is assuming the Big T. stands there and lets them get that many rounds of spells off without killing them... I'm not sure CR 30 should look like this mechanically.
EDIT: of course, the damage bonus from being an Evokers gets reduced by the saves too - so it's even worse (redone)
Last edited:
dave2008
Legend
Caliburn101, thank you for the comments; however, you have me a bit confused with your comment. A have a couple comments / questions:
1) There are no official rules for levels beyond 20. There are guidelines for play beyond 20, but not levels. So, I don't really know what a level 30 wizard is. There are of course at least (2) 3pp products, but I am not familiar enough with them to comment.
2) My concern isn't 20+, but 20th level and below. I don't really want T to be able to be defeated by the average 4 person lvl 20 group.
3) Why use meteor swarm? Is about the worst use of a high level spell. T is immune to fire and has resistance to bludgeoning, plus its magic resistance.
4) I did a quick check and a party of 20th level PCs consisting of a cleric and 3 fighters can do enough damage to kill T in about 6-7 rounds. The trick is staying alive that long. They would need some extreme equipment (I had the fighters with belts of storm giant strength, +3 plate, +3 shield, +3 greatsword), but that is what I think it should take for lvl 20 PCs to take on big T.
Similar Threads
