Drow challenge: cleric vs. rogue

[Alpha Polaris]

Ok, so my character is a 11th level drow, cleric of Lolth. We are way behind in terms of gold and magic items, and it would be very difficult for me to buy anything non-trivial.

In our last game session, we met a Siloë, "PC turned NPC", whom we thought was dead (since the PC disappeared during a battle), and who therefore has a grudge against us (the PCs), since he feels we let him down. Behing drows, and all, we're not going to cry him a river, basically what we told him, so he came to the point.

He was talking on behalf of my character's hierarchical superior, who has learned that I was making deals with a nearby pack of Fangs of Lolth, and takes it too personally (she thinks I'm going to use them to take her over, which by the way, I am, but this is not the point). So he commanded me to step down, or... Ensues a bunch of not so veiled threats.

Now Siloë is (was) a Rog 10 / Asn 3 with a bunch of HP (around 120), nasty sneak attaks, a critical threat range of 15-20 and so on. So this guy is all about criticals. I suppose the DM will have geared him up with some nasty new surprises. I'd like some advice on how to kick the living crap out of him should he decide to become violent. If possible, using only WotC material, little or no equipment, and the one feat (if possible, metamagic) that I will be getting soon (at 12th, my first choice woul be the one to extend duration).

I thought about using Veil of Darkness for the 20% miss chance, thus foiling sneak attacks, but True Strike is on the Assassin's spell list, so... Then I might use Living Undeath to become immune to crits and sneaks, but this eats up one 6th level spell slot. I'm a big fan of Heightened Hold Person myself, but the drow SR becomes a real problem in this case (caster level check against 24, ergh...).

So how would you guys lay the smack on this arrogant killer ?

 

[Alpha Polaris]

Anyone ? Bumpity-bump...

 

[pbd]

from what you said try the Living Undeath. If the rogue/assassin is all about criticals, take that away...

 

[xazil]

What about summoning or creating something that is good at grappling and immune to crits to grab him? Large elementals or a big undead critter maybe. Alternatively make a pile of shadows and send them in then watch his strength drop.

 

[Alpha Polaris]

This one seems good. I like the pile swarm of shadows, it should teach him a lesson or two. And I forgot that summons do not incur SR, I feel much better now.

Thanks, keep up the the good work

 

[Sejs]

incorporeal undead.

ideally fiendish incorporeal undead that's loyal to you by means of a planar ally type spell.

then let 'em loose in a playpen full of slaves.

 

[mmu1]

What I wanna know if how a 13th level character with a d6 hit die managed to get to 120HP?

Is he just as overpowered in other ways (AC, to hit bonus, saves), or not?

Is your own character built on a similar power level?

In any case, if you're dealing with Drow, and expect to be dealing with Drow, I'd reccommend Spell Penetration as your next feat choice, if you don't already have it...

As for fighting this guy - you obviously need True Seeing ready, since many of the things he can try in order to get tons of sneak attacks are negated by it.

And unless there's really a huge power disparity, just remember that you're a cleric, he's a rogue, and keep it simple. Spell Resistance or not, if you decide to pepper him with a ton of Will and Fort save spells, he's going down. Ditto if you just memorize Divine Power, Righteous Might and Heal, and beat the crap out of him. Throw in an Insect Plague if you feel like hitting him with a spell he won't be able to do anything about, forcing him to take 2d6 points of damage as long as he fights you... (and possibly get nauseated if he gets unlucky)

 

[Lamoni]

What I wanna know if how a 13th level character with a d6 hit die managed to get to 120HP?

I have no idea how it was actually done, but with a starting Con of 18, a racial boost of +2 and a +4 item you can have a Con score of 24. That means at level 13, 91 HP's would have come from CON and 6 from level 1. He would have only needed 24 from rolling (an average of 2). Add in improved toughness and he would only need 11 from rolling (an average of less than 1).

Now, I don't think that is how it was done... let's say he rolled slightly above average and averaged 4.17. That would mean he would have 56 from that and only lack 64 HP. Meaning he would need a CON score of 20, or a CON score of 18 with improved toughness. Very doable. Either he started with very high rolls and therefore a 17 or 18 in CON or he gave up on other abilities. OR maybe a CON +4 item was found so the rogue didn't necessarily decide on the item and just sort of ended up that way.

Edit: My math was wrong (I forgot about receiving 6 for the first HD)

 

[mmu1]

I have no idea how it was actually done, but with a starting Con of 18, a racial boost of +2 and a +4 item you can have a Con score of 24. That means at level 13, 91 HP's would have come from CON and 6 from level 1. He would have only needed 24 from rolling (an average of 2). Add in improved toughness and he would only need 11 from rolling (an average of less than 1).

Now, I don't think that is how it was done... let's say he rolled slightly above average and averaged 4.17. That would mean he would have 56 from that and only lack 64 HP. Meaning he would need a CON score of 20, or a CON score of 18 with improved toughness. Very doable. Either he started with very high rolls and therefore a 17 or 18 in CON or he gave up on other abilities. OR maybe a CON +4 item was found so the rogue didn't necessarily decide on the item and just sort of ended up that way.

Edit: My math was wrong (I forgot about receiving 6 for the first HD)

We're talking about a Drow rogue/assassin here, making the 18 CON to start and +2 racial a bit unlikely...

 

[Alpha Polaris]

What I wanna know if how a 13th level character with a d6 hit die managed to get to 120HP?

Is he just as overpowered in other ways (AC, to hit bonus, saves), or not?

Is your own character built on a similar power level?

The HP mostly come from a huge constitution (I believe some item he has gives him +6 CON) and incredibly lucky (though often unchecked) hit point rolls. The character is min-maxed to the gills, but his AC is not so high, unlike his chances to crit (around 15-20) and his overall output damage.

My own character is not as powerfull, barely 70 hp, 24 AC, +13 to hit, 1d8+6 damage before buffing up.

In any case, if you're dealing with Drow, and expect to be dealing with Drow, I'd reccommend Spell Penetration as your next feat choice, if you don't already have it...

As for fighting this guy - you obviously need True Seeing ready, since many of the things he can try in order to get tons of sneak attacks are negated by it.

And unless there's really a huge power disparity, just remember that you're a cleric, he's a rogue, and keep it simple. Spell Resistance or not, if you decide to pepper him with a ton of Will and Fort save spells, he's going down. Ditto if you just memorize Divine Power, Righteous Might and Heal, and beat the crap out of him. Throw in an Insect Plague if you feel like hitting him with a spell he won't be able to do anything about, forcing him to take 2d6 points of damage as long as he fights you... (and possibly get nauseated if he gets unlucky)

Thanks for this. true Seeing seems like a great idea, as it could allow me to avoid using living unlife (I hate this -4 CHA hit...). I was already thinking about using swarms, I guess Insect plague makes sense.

Thanks again.