(Cydra Rogues' Gallery-My Players STAY OUT)

[Asha'man]

I am stealing that. Achtung, my PCs!

But, what is "deadly weapon", the spell on Gore's scroll? It's not in the Spell Compendium.

Edit: there are a few spells I don't recognize among his prepared spells, too.
Are they from Complete Divine? That's less important, though, a spell list is easy to tweak.

 

[Knightfall]

I am stealing that. Achtung, my PCs!

But, what is "deadly weapon", the spell on Gore's scroll? It's not in the Spell Compendium.

Edit: there are a few spells I don't recognize among his prepared spells, too.
Are they from Complete Divine? That's less important, though, a spell list is easy to tweak.

Jester has tons of custom spells for his campaign. You can find those spells and tons of other custom material he's designed for Cydra on his Yahoo Group.

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/cydra/

 

[Asha'man]

Thank you, Knightfall! The Cydra group has even more fun stuff than this thread.

 

[Knightfall]

Thank you, Knightfall! The Cydra group has even more fun stuff than this thread.

Yep, there's a lot of great stuff on that group. (Sort of like my yahoo group. Cough! Pimp.)

 

[the Jester]

Asha'man, I don't know where you're located, but if you're ever in the Greater Sacramento area, let me know and maybe we can get a game together so you can experience some of my stuff more, ah, viscerally.

(The same goes for KF, or really anyone from ENWorld or my other online communities- unless, of course, you're a twit. )

Edit: I'll post another one of the gnarly gargoyles soon- I think we've still got Tear and Tooth to go- but the pcs still haven't encountered them (we played last night). They did, however, have a nice, fat EL 32 fight last night.

I'm implementing a lot of 4e design philosophy in my remaining 3e games- for instance, that EL 32 encounter included a total of 11 monsters and one trap from four different rooms. All comin' in at once, or nearly so.

 

[Asha'man]

How does that work out for you, Jester? The 4e design philosophy (obviously) goes hand in hand with actual design, so 4e monsters are streamlined and built for cooperation. I've found that I often get bogged down in options when using multiple adversaries at high levels.
Do you have any tricks to share?

Onthe other hand, I don't see what all the fuss is about regarding minions. You can easily have minions in 3.5 -as long as the monsters can somehow affect the PCs despite their AC and saves being out of reach, or exploit some weakness (don't overdo this, of course) you've got your minions right there. Magic Missiles, touch attacks, and Save for Half or Save for Partial effects are all viable options. Not to mention what tactically-minded adversaries can accomplish with a few extra sets of actions per round, even if they are attached to a 12-hp mook.

 

[the Jester]

How does that work out for you, Jester? The 4e design philosophy (obviously) goes hand in hand with actual design, so 4e monsters are streamlined and built for cooperation. I've found that I often get bogged down in options when using multiple adversaries at high levels.
Do you have any tricks to share?

Lately I've been using an open Word file for initiative. That lets me quickly note things like ongoing effects, readied actions, etc. But I think I still like index cards better- I'm thinking post it notes would be a good way to make sure I notice all the ongoing stuff.

Also, if I know in advance that I am using a certain mix, I'll try to preplan my tactics a bit, especially using my knowledge of the pcs' tactics. (Even if my monsters don't know what the pcs can do, I can think about how they would respond to certain tactics, and so I can make notes for the 'most likely scenario' combat.)

It's really fun to throw out the multi-monster encounters all at once, since I get a lot of chances to act. Its nice to have a wealth of "adversary options" for the pcs, too.

 

[the Jester]

All right, I just did something crazy- I did a first run of a 4e Bile Lord.

BILE LORD--- Level 27 Elite Controller
Large aberrant humanoid (bile) XP Value
---
Initiative +21 --- Senses Perception +21, darkvision
Sickening Aura aura 5; creatures within are weakened and slowed; does not effect creatures with the bile keyword
HP 506; Bloodied 253
AC 43; Fortitude 42; Reflex 41; Will 43
Resist 20 acid, 20 poison
Saving Throws +2
Speed 6
Action Points 1
---
Claw (standard action; basic attack) Acid, Bile, Poison
Reach 2; +28 vs. AC; 2d6+9 damage and ongoing 10 acid damage (save ends), plus followup attack: +27 vs. Fort; ongoing 10 poison damage.

Bile Burst (standard action; at will) Acid, Bile, Poison
Burst 2 within 10; targets each creature in burst; +27 vs. Fort; 2d6+5 points of acid damage plus 10 ongoing acid damage plus 10 ongoing poison damage (save ends both); Miss: half damage and 5 ongoing acid and 5 ongoing poison (save ends both). Effects: The area becomes difficult terrain until the end of the encounter. Creatures with the bile keyword ignore this.

Psychic Assault (standard action; recharge 5 6) Psychic
Blast 5; targets each enemy in blast; +27 vs. Will; 2d8+9 psychic damage and slide target up to 3 squares; Miss: slide target up to 2 squares.

Wave of Withering Power (minor action; recharge when first bloodied) Psychic
Blast 4; targets each creature within blast (does not affect creatures with the bile keyword); +27 vs. Will; target is dazed (save ends) and blinded until the end of the Bile Lord’s next turn. Miss: target is dazed until the beginning of its turn.

Sickening Exhalation (immediate reaction when damaged by a melee attack; encounter) Bile, Poison
Targets the creature that damaged the Bile Lord; +27 vs. Fort; 3d8+9 poison damage. Effect: The Bile Lord may shift 1 square.

Second Wind (standard; encounter) Healing
The Bile Lord spends a healing surge and regains 126 hp. It gains a +2 bonus to all of its defenses until the end of its next turn.
---
Alignment Evil Languages Ancient Giant
Skills Arcana +28
Str 24 --- Dex 26 --- Wis 26
Con 29 --- Int 30 --- Cha 30

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

All right, I just did something crazy- I did a first run of a 4e Bile Lord.

BILE LORD--- Level 27 Elite Controller
Large aberrant humanoid (bile) XP Value
---
Initiative +21 --- Senses Perception +21, darkvision
Sickening Aura aura 5; creatures within are weakened and slowed; does not effect creatures with the bile keyword
HP 506; Bloodied 253
AC 43; Fortitude 42; Reflex 41; Will 43
Resist 20 acid, 20 poison
Saving Throws +2
Speed 6
Action Points 1
---
Claw (standard action; basic attack) Acid, Bile, Poison
Reach 2; +28 vs. AC; 2d6+9 damage and ongoing 10 acid damage (save ends), plus followup attack: +27 vs. Fort; ongoing 10 poison damage.

Bile Burst (standard action; at will) Acid, Bile, Poison
Burst 2 within 10; targets each creature in burst; +27 vs. Fort; 2d6+5 points of acid damage plus 10 ongoing acid damage plus 10 ongoing poison damage (save ends both); Miss: half damage and 5 ongoing acid and 5 ongoing poison (save ends both). Effects: The area becomes difficult terrain until the end of the encounter. Creatures with the bile keyword ignore this.

Psychic Assault (standard action; recharge 5 6) Psychic
Blast 5; targets each enemy in blast; +27 vs. Will; 2d8+9 psychic damage and slide target up to 3 squares; Miss: slide target up to 2 squares.

Wave of Withering Power (minor action; recharge when first bloodied) Psychic
Blast 4; targets each creature within blast (does not affect creatures with the bile keyword); +27 vs. Will; target is dazed (save ends) and blinded until the end of the Bile Lord’s next turn. Miss: target is dazed until the beginning of its turn.

Sickening Exhalation (immediate reaction when damaged by a melee attack; encounter) Bile, Poison
Targets the creature that damaged the Bile Lord; +27 vs. Fort; 3d8+9 poison damage. Effect: The Bile Lord may shift 1 square.

Second Wind (standard; encounter) Healing
The Bile Lord spends a healing surge and regains 126 hp. It gains a +2 bonus to all of its defenses until the end of its next turn.
---
Alignment Evil Languages Ancient Giant
Skills Arcana +28
Str 24 --- Dex 26 --- Wis 26
Con 29 --- Int 30 --- Cha 30

That looks NASTY! Looking forward to reading some more 4e versions of your high level foes, frankly. You've always had a great knack for high levelled games, and I think I'm going to be keeping an eye out here for 4e goodness to steal, sorry, borrow.

 

[Asha'man]

Really solid, Jester. Making a complex, high-level conversion this good only days after the books are out really shows your knack for design. It's almost enough to want me to try 4e. (And that's not easily done)

However... GARGOYLES!
(Or, if you prefer, the 3.5 statblock you converted the Bile Lord from.)