Can you help me design a group of Yuan-ti NPC's? (My players stay out)

[Brakkart]

Hi. First off, thanks to anyone who simply takes the time to read this thread, even if you don't comment... unless you're one of my players, in which case please hit the BACK button on your browser now.

Okay. I'm running a campaign set in the Forgotten Realms, in which the PC's are up against an insidious plot by the Yuan-ti to create armies of cloned, totally obidient super soldiers called Megalomen. The basic premise for the campaign was extrapolated from the adventure "Slave Vats of the Yuan-ti" in Dungeon #66.

The players are now nearing the Yuan-ti city in the Black Jungles where the first of these armies is being created (the other is in Hlondeth which they plan to strike at next). While I have some NPC's designed, I'm really looking to put together a rival adventuring group if you will of Yuan-ti, using the Snakemen from the new Masters of the Universe cartoon (cos I think they will prove fun opponents and be very fitting). My problem is this, I suck at math, I really do. I don't want to create an encounter the PC's walk over, but neither do I want a TPK (I've got a LOT of campaign plotted up after this fight, and I'd like to use it).

So what I'm looking for is a challenging/tough encounter for a party of 6 lvl 10-12 PC's. The Snakemen are as follows, accompanied by my notes on how to stat them up thus far:

King Hsss - Halfblood with 2 snake grafts. Sorceror. Has a snake staff. All his spells are themed around green snakes.
General Rattlor - Big Halfblood with prehensile tail (with rattle). Fighter. Big sword of some type. Neck can extend/lunge forward (short range on bite perhaps?)
Kobra Khan - Halfblood with Cobra Hood. Can spit venom or acid. Rogue.
Tung Lashor - Halfblood with very long (15-20') tongue, used as a whip. Class???
Sssqueeze - Halfblood with extendable arms (up to 20'). Grapples and crushes opponents. Hands can became fanged mouths (ranged bite). Class???
Snake Face - Male Medusa. Monk.

I have all the 3E Forgotten Realms books (including Champions of Ruin and Serpent Kingdoms), the PHB, DMG, MM 1-3, Fiend Folio, Ssethregore, all 4 Complete books, BoVD and Draconomicon.

Put all together what sort of levels would those of you better at this sort of thing than me suggest for these guys, and what feats etc.

Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated, well by me anyway *grins*

 

[GenkiZero]

A Question If You Will

First question is, are there any powerful items or abilities your party has that need to be put into the equation for the opposing party ?

In general, I find that to make an opposing party strong, if you have equal numbers is simply to put them about 2 or 3 levels above.
The character with the whip tongue could very well be a Scout from Complete Adventurer. That would allow him to move very quickly around the stage and also make him hard to hit, making him a stong ranged fighter.
The character with the extendo arms could very well be a druid or perhaps a druid/master of many forms (shifter) since he already has a related ability to that. In general, I think he should be a divine caster (even if he's not a healer). He could also be a ranger (thus allowing him to have a favored enemy humanoid class feature). Lastly, you might make him a Blighter (Complete Divine). Him being a Blighter would allow you to make a ranged contagion attack or even a plague attack. The plague attack would give the members of the party who are infected a time limit. It would also allow him to unbind any familiars or mounts if your party relies on those.

Remember to account for the level adjustment of these creatures when determining their levels.

 

[Brakkart]

Good question. My PC group consists of the following:

Ash - Human Paladin (Sune)
Aeron - Air Genasi Wizard/Elemental Savant (Electricity)
Jebodiah - Dwarf Barbarian/Fighter/Frenzied Berserker
Gylippus - Human Wizard/Rogue/Arcane Trickster
Ki - Human Monk/Rogue/Ranger/Thief Acrobat
Zamtap - Human Cleric/Techsmith (Gond)
Tik-Tok - Gondsman Construct

The most powerful item in the party currently is Stormcleaver, Jebodiah's intelligent Dwarven Waraxe+1 (Thundering). They have a couple +2 weapons between them, some wands (most powerful being of fireballs). Nothing that can throw a major spanner in the works.

Level Adjustment is where I have a problem. According to that (best sense I can make of it anyway), a single Halfblood Yuan-ti with its 7 hit dice and LA of +5 (as statted in the MM1) is the equal of a 12th level character... but it has a CR of 5. Since a 12th level Fighter for instance has a CR of 12, I'm lost. If I go by the LA, then the halfbloods are already a challenge fit for a lvl 10-12 group. Except that this party encountered a "by the book" halfblood already at 5th level and made mincemeat out of him. I'm tempted to ignore LA and just use the CR as a base, add classes onto that to get them to the right level.

 

[Kunimatyu]

For an opposing party, don't use Level Adjust, use CR. Level adjust is only important when a player wants to play a yuan-ti, so you can point to the big number and tell them no. Also, in general, yuan-ti don't take well to straight-up fights -- unless they can use their detect thoughts and shapechanging abilities to get the drop on the party, they'll die pretty quick.

 

[Brakkart]

For an opposing party, don't use Level Adjust, use CR. Level adjust is only important when a player wants to play a yuan-ti, so you can point to the big number and tell them no.

Nicely put!!

So all 5 Halfbloods are CR5, the Medusa is CR 7. GenkiZero suggests making them 2-3 levels above the partys level, so I'm looking at adding 8-10 levels to each Halfblood and 6-8 levels to the Medusa. Would that be about right?

 

[GenkiZero]

Sounds like a plan !

 

[Brakkart]

Right, so with that in mind, here's where I am now:

King Hsss - Halfblood Sorceror 10. 2 Snake Grafts (to give him 4 snake arms), overall has 5 bite attacks. Feats: Spell Thematics (MoF), Still Spell, Multiattack, CR 15.

Any ideas on what would be a good staff for him? He has 59,000gp of equipment, spent 24,000 already on the 2 grafts.

General Rattlor - Large Halfblood Fighter 8. Feats: Multiattack, Multiweapon Fighting, Power Attack, Prehensile Tail (SK), Tail Rattle (SK). CR 14

Kobra Khan - Halfblood Rogue 8. Feats: Precise Shot, Point Blank Shot, Cobra Head (SK), Improved Spit (SK), Spit Venom (SK), Ability Focus-Poison. CR 13

Tung Lashor - Halfblood Scout 8 with very long (15-20') tongue, used as a whip. Feats: Weapon Focus-Whip, Weapon Finesse, Improved Natural Attack. CR 13

Sssqueeze - Halfblood Cleric 8 (Sseth) with extendable arms (20' Ranged Touch). Feats: Multigrab (SK), Mobility, Combat Reflexes, CR 14

Snake Face - Male Medusa Monk 3 (Ti-Khana Template to give Yuan-ti abilities). Feats: Irresistable Gaze (SK), Ability Focus-Gaze. CR 12. Done 15/5/05

Ideas on what other feats these guys should have and what would be good equipment for them would be most welcome.

 

[GenkiZero]

What does Spell Thematics entail (What does MoF stand for?) ?
It might be cheap but since these people have higher hit die than class levels, you might be able to benefit from using feats like Practised Spellcaster which means your Sorceror could cast spells as a level 14 sorceror (though he still only has access to the spells of a level 10 sorceror).

Leap Attack (ComAdven) is handy for fighter classes.

Arterial Stike, Hamstring (Both from ComWarrior) and Staggering Stike (ComAdven) are all excellent rogue battle abilities.

Mobility, Combat Expertise, and Danger Sense(ComAdven) are useful additions to the Scout

What domains do you plan for the cleric to have access to ?
Domain Spontaneity (ComDivine) and True Believer (Also ComDivine) are great assets to any cleric as well as Practiced Spellcaster (ComDivine Version).

Eyes on the Back of Your Head, and Pain Touch (Both ComWarrior) could support the Medusa's abilities nicely.

 

[Arbiter of Wyrms]

Spell Thematics, from Magic of Faerun, is a neat idea, but a dumb feat. I say give the sorcerer a ST as a bonus feat and then pick another feat that will offer some benefit beyond showmanship.

BTW, GenkiZero, Spell Thematics give your spells a "theme," like on your computer desktop, so they all come off looking distinctive.

 

[Brakkart]

Spell Thematics, from Magic of Faerun, is a neat idea, but a dumb feat. I say give the sorcerer a ST as a bonus feat and then pick another feat that will offer some benefit beyond showmanship.

BTW, GenkiZero, Spell Thematics give your spells a "theme," like on your computer desktop, so they all come off looking distinctive.

It also gives a +5 increase to the DC for oppossed Spellcraft checks to figure out what the spells are. In the cartoon, all of Hsss's spells manifest as green semi-translucent snakes, so the feat does fit.