Elder Red Dragon preview is up

[Simplicity]

My rules are bit rusty but... How many times a round can that dragon hit with Tail Strike? And how many times can it be used against the party per round? If you just run past the dragon, can it hit you every time you leave a square? Can the dragon just bull rush someone and then whack the snot out of them?

Man, this thing looks like a death machine. I never run parties this high level though...

 

[Hellzon]

My rules are bit rusty but... How many times a round can that dragon hit with Tail Strike? And how many times can it be used against the party per round?

Once. You can only make one Immediate action per round.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Didn't I read somewhere that you can only use 1 AP per round? Otherwise PCs could abuse this too.

 

[Stalker0]

It changed between MM1 and MM2

In MM1, the only limit was no AP during the surprise round.
In MM2, there is no mention of AP's during the surprise round, but the 1/round limitation is there.

Good to know the rules forum can still teach me the rules!

 

[Mirtek]

Didn't I read somewhere that you can only use 1 AP per round? Otherwise PCs could abuse this too.

PCs can spend multiple APs per round if they can get around the one AP per encounter restriction (e.g. through an extraordinary granted AP).

Monsters don't have the one AP per encounter restriction and have a one AP per round restriction instead

 

[RigaMortus2]

Draconic Resilience
The Red Dragon may make an unmodified saving throw at the start of its turn against any one ongoing effect it is currently subject to, this can include effects that normally do not allow a saving throw.

Yeah, but with the right build, you can still lock it down. Even adding the +5 save into the mix, the Orbizard was still able to lock it down with a stun.

My suggestion would be to give the Red Dragon the ability to remove an effect (or just specifically Stun) by using an Action, either a Move Action or (if you wanted to be more restrictive) a Standard Action. This way, it still eats up MOST of its turn, but won't be perma-locked every round with broken builds.

 

[Ultimatecalibur]

I like it.

This dragon has several tactical choices built into it for both the players and DMs.

Player choices:

• Use a stun/dominate to stop Instinctive Assault or Delay and stop the main action.
• Who should move in an attempt to draw out the Tail Strike.

DM choices:

• Who should the Tail Strike be used on and where.
• Which two characters would be the best to Grab and should they be bite or claw grabs.
• etc.

 

[kevtar]

I like it too

I thought it was a nice twist on the original MMI Red.

Personally, I think Frightful Presence should be something along the lines of a penalty to hit. That way, when an elder red dragon pops up, you tell the PCs...

"the majesty of the fiery menace before you overwhelms your senses. Filled with dread, you raise your weapon to attack and hope that you can steel your nerves long enough to at least demonstrate that you will not go down without a fight..."

That way, if the PC misses, well... it was expected and scary. If the PC hits, or even better crits, then it's a memorable moment. A lot more memorable than "you're stunned."

 

[LightPhoenix]

"the majesty of the fiery menace before you overwhelms your senses. Filled with dread, you raise your weapon to attack and hope that you can steel your nerves long enough to at least demonstrate that you will not go down without a fight..."

Why not say that anyway? Doesn't need to be any mechanical tie-in for it. Plus, it's awesome.

 

[Markn]

First - the solos are getting better, much better.

Second - I still feel WotC could go much, much further. Mechanically so many creatures feel like so many other creatures, even if the description is a bit different.

I really like what Rangerwickett had to say in his post. Solos (and even Elites to some degree) should give you something special or something VERY unique making it memorable (and scary). I REALLY like the idea of Solos/Elites getting an extra advantage when they spend an AP a la Paragon Paths. There still is so much more design space out there for Solos but I suspect WotC feels this will clutter up the monster making it tactically complicated, however there are plenty of ways to add additional powers or tactics to creatures without making this so.