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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Manbearcat" data-source="post: 7320444" data-attributes="member: 6696971">I would probably mechanize this in the following ways:1)  Closing the Planar Rift (assuming the PCs have the means to do so) Skill Challenge - Level +3, Complexity 1.Every round where a Move Action isn't spent by a PC to close the rift (via whatever thematically appropriate means at their disposal) counts toward an automatic failure in the Skill Challenge.  A failure carries the following consequences:* The Planar Rift moves toward permanency.  The consequences of this are left to the GM (an of-level Standard creature infiltrates the world every hour?)* An of-level, thematically fitting Standard creature emerges adjacent to the portal and acts on that initiative (which should be end of the round).Success obviously means the Planar Rift is closed.2)  Disrupt the Teleportation Circle Skill Challenge - Level +3, Complexity 1.Every round where a Standard Action isn't spent by a PC to disrupt the Wizard's ritual accrues a failure in the challenge.  A failure carries the following consequences:* The Teleportation Circle moves closer to becoming enacted (upon which the scene is over and the Wizard has escaped).* The PC nearest the Circle (roll if a tie) loses a Healing Surge worth of HPs as the arcane engine of creation siphons its life to fuel the ritual.If a PC successfully hits the Wizard with an attack, until the end of your next turn, the next failed attempt to Disrupt the Circle can be rerolled.3)  The Circle should be stationary, but the Wizard should not be.  I would make the Wizard an Elite but one of its actions must be spent enacting the circle so it only gets a Standard creatures worth of actions (with the Arcane Feedback on a failed SC effort, or lacktherof, effectively serving as its Elite offense potency).  I would probably give it a Trait Windwall (-2 Ranged Attacks) and an Aura 3 that Slides enemies 3 squares who end their turn in it.  Give it a Standard Action Daily Spell with a Zone, a Blast 3 At Will w/ a small Slide rider and a Ranged 20 w/ a Slide 3 rider.Finally, I'd give the Wizard an Encounter Interrupt to move a Minion w/in 5 adjacent to take a hit for it.I would also give the Wizard a bunch of Minions that can intercept attacks, thus taking a hit for the Wizard.Finally, there needs to be some (2 or 3 depending on the encounter budget you're going for) Arcane Traps as part of the Encounter budget that the Wizard can move PCs into.[HR][/HR]The mechanics of 1 and 2 above need to be made clear to the player(s) so (a) they can properly interact with the encounter's dynamics and (b) so they understand the implication (so their tactical decision-tree is appropriately informed and so they understand the potential fallout in the fiction).</blockquote>

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