Help me fill out a high level drow raiding party

[NewJeffCT]

The pcs may have a showdown with a group of drow in an upcoming session. It's a large group of high level PCs - level 17. It's got two melee tanks (dwarf fighter, goliath barbarian) and 3 spellcasters - a psion, a sorcerer and a cleric. Plus, it has a rogue and a finesse oriented elf fighter/paladin.

the drow will be led by a duskblade that has been a party nemesis for a while now, around level 18. They'll also have a higher level cleric and a sorcerer or wizard. I'll need a few more drow in there for melee support and/or to protect the cleric and wizard. Maybe a minor caster or two as well to work as counter-spellers. I would hope to keep the number between 10-12. total.

the drow are primarily there to fight against wood & high elves.

Thanks

 

[Theroc]

Well, warlocks are great for counter-spelling, since they have an invocation which works as "Dispel Magic" in essence.

Additionally, if you have a drow who can see within a Darkness spell(even Darkvision doesn't penetrate magical darkness IIRC), then they could act to disrupt the party, attacking the casters while the melee tanks can't see to protect them.

Just a couple ideas thrown out there, if they haven't already come to you.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

How complex are you willing to have the NPC's actions be? Tome of Battle could be nice, maybe a Shadow Hand using Swordsage, but sounds like you already have enough on your plate.

A bard or marshal, in either case multiclassed with a full BAB class (or in an appropriate martial prestige class, like Warchanter) + a bunch of high level vanilla fighters would probably work fine. Dragon Shaman is also useful for support and not too complex. and adds some more healing.

 

[NewJeffCT]

How complex are you willing to have the NPC's actions be? Tome of Battle could be nice, maybe a Shadow Hand using Swordsage, but sounds like you already have enough on your plate.

A bard or marshal, in either case multiclassed with a full BAB class (or in an appropriate martial prestige class, like Warchanter) + a bunch of high level vanilla fighters would probably work fine. Dragon Shaman is also useful for support and not too complex. and adds some more healing.

Thanks - good ideas. I don't want to be too complex.

I was even thinking of having a couple of designated "trippers" and then having a few rogue-ish drow there to deliver sneak attacks if the "tank" PCs attempt to stand... of course, the dwarf is such a tank that he can still deliver a pretty good full attack from the ground, if he's within hacking distance.

 

[NewJeffCT]

Well, warlocks are great for counter-spelling, since they have an invocation which works as "Dispel Magic" in essence.

Additionally, if you have a drow who can see within a Darkness spell(even Darkvision doesn't penetrate magical darkness IIRC), then they could act to disrupt the party, attacking the casters while the melee tanks can't see to protect them.

Just a couple ideas thrown out there, if they haven't already come to you.

thanks - the party has a warlock villain coming up in another encounter, so I don't want to overdo it there. I like the magical darkness idea, since I think even true seeing doesn't penetrate darkness.

 

[Elethiomel]

The Warlock idea has much merit; Eldricht Blast is a good counterspell on its own. It doesn't cost the warlock much to ready to blast whichever enemy casts a spell first; where an archer or melee fighter would lose out on full attack goodness, the warlock's main attack is a standard action anyway.

As for Darkness (and Deeper Darkness), it only provides 50% concealment in 3.5, unless you've houseruled it to work like it did in 3.0.

The Tome of Battle idea is excellent, if complicated. Warlocks are simple; all their class abilities are at-will, so they are as simple to keep track of as most physical classes, while the Tome of Battle classes have some (but not all) of the complexity of a caster. Many Shadow Hand maneuvers fit excellently with the Drow theme though (provided your campaign has the standard drow theme) and provides excellent opportunity to take down pesky wood elf archers (provided your campaign has the wood elves = archers theme) through shadow step and its bigger brothers.

 

[Elethiomel]

I like the magical darkness idea, since I think even true seeing doesn't penetrate darkness.

True seeing does not penetrate mundane darkness. Magical darkness is not "the world as it really is", and hence True Seeing penetrates it, in my interpretation anyway. Also see above for the concealment provided by normal magical darkness, as per the rules.

 

[NewJeffCT]

The Warlock idea has much merit; Eldricht Blast is a good counterspell on its own. It doesn't cost the warlock much to ready to blast whichever enemy casts a spell first; where an archer or melee fighter would lose out on full attack goodness, the warlock's main attack is a standard action anyway.

As for Darkness (and Deeper Darkness), it only provides 50% concealment in 3.5, unless you've houseruled it to work like it did in 3.0.

The Tome of Battle idea is excellent, if complicated. Warlocks are simple; all their class abilities are at-will, so they are as simple to keep track of as most physical classes, while the Tome of Battle classes have some (but not all) of the complexity of a caster. Many Shadow Hand maneuvers fit excellently with the Drow theme though (provided your campaign has the standard drow theme) and provides excellent opportunity to take down pesky wood elf archers (provided your campaign has the wood elves = archers theme) through shadow step and its bigger brothers.

Shadow Hand sounds interesting, but I don't think I'll have time to learn Tome of Battle stuff before the next 2-3 sessions.

 

[Theroc]

Jeff, if you haven't already, I'd highly recommend Drow of the Underdark, as inspiration for Drow tactics. There is a section in the book specifically for giving you ideas for Drow tactics.

Among them:
Don't be afraid to make sacrifices, particularly if the Drow had any slave soldiers along.
Don't fight long. Drow don't have the staying power of other races, and prefer blitz tactics. If they don't win quickly, they'll probably cut and run.

Not very specific ideas, but something to give an idea.

If the Drow came to the surface looking for a fight, chances are they brought non-Drow minions along. They could be mobs of low level goblins, used specifically to flank and swarm and harry the casters, only to get mowed down by a Drow's beefed-up metamagic fireball on the party.

 

[FEADIN]

True seeing does not penetrate mundane darkness. Magical darkness is not "the world as it really is", and hence True Seeing penetrates it, in my interpretation anyway. Also see above for the concealment provided by normal magical darkness, as per the rules.

From the SRD:
True Seeing
......
The subject sees through normal and magical darkness, notices secret doors hidden by magic.....