Homebrew Monsters

[WhatGravitas]

Some of my homebrew 4E monsters. Feedback wanted!

[sblock=Savage Troll]
Savage Troll
Level 8 Brute
XP 350
Large natural humanoid

Initiative +4
Senses Perception +3
HP 113 Bloodied 56 see Limb loss
AC 20; Fortitude 20, Reflex 14, Will 13
Speed 6

Claw (standard; at will)
Reach 2; +13 vs. AC; 1d8+5 damage and prone.
Rend (standard; at will)
Only when the savage troll has combat advantage; reach 2; +13 vs. AC; 2d8+10 damage and if 5 ongoing damage (save ends).
Regenerate (minor; )
The troll is healed by 10 hp.
Limb Loss
When a savage troll is bloodied the first time in an encounter, he loses one arm and cannot use the rend attack for the rest of the encounter.
Inhibited Regeneration
If a savage troll takes acid or fire damage, it loses its regenerate ability (save ends).

Str 19 (+8) Dex 10 (+4) Wis 9 (+3)
Con 23 (+10) Int 6 (+2) Cha 6 (+2)

Alignment Unaligned
Languages Common
Skills Endurance +14[/sblock]
[sblock=Shadow Troll]
Shadow Troll
Level 8 Controller
XP 350
Large natural humanoid

Initiative +7
Senses Perception +4
HP 91 Bloodied 45
AC 21; Fortitude 18, Reflex 17, Will 15
Speed 6

Staff (standard; at will)
Reach 2; +10 vs. AC; 1d6+5 damage)
Draining Shadow (standard; at will) * necrotic
Range 10; +12 vs. Fort; 1d6+5 necrotic damage and recharge regenerate.
Freezing Shadows (standard; recharge ) * necrotic
Burst 2 within 10 squares; +12 vs. Fort; 1d8+5 necrotic damage and immobilized (save ends).
Regenerate (minor; )
The shadow troll is healed by 5 hp.
Inhibited Regeneration
If a shadow troll takes fire or radiant damage, it loses its regenerate ability (save ends)

Alignment Evil
Languages Common
Skills Arcana +12, Stealth +9

Str 15 (+6) Dex 10 (+4) Wis 11 (+4)
Con 19 (+8) Int 16 (+7) Cha 13 (+5)[/sblock]

[sblock=Dream Entity Host]
Prerequisites: Humanoid, Level 5, Charisma 13

Dream Entity Host
Elite Controller
XP Elite
Humanoid
Senses Blindsight 5
Defenses +2 AC, +4 Reflex, +4 Will
Resist 5 psychic
Saving Throws +2
Action point 1
Hit Points +8 per level + Con score
POWERS
Mental Assault (minor, at-will) * psychic
Ranged 5; Level +2 vs. Will; 1d6 + Charisma modifier psychic damage.
Projected Force (standard, recharge ) * force
Ranged 5; Level +2 vs. Reflex; 2d6 + Charisma modifier force damage and push or pull 4.
Retaliating Mind (immediate reaction, at-will) * psychic
Whenever a charm or psychic attack is made against the dream entity host, it can use this power against the attacker; Level +2 vs. Will; 2d6 + Charisma modifier psychic damage and stunned (save ends).[/sblock]

Cheers, LT.

 

[WhatGravitas]

Dark Mavens
Dark Mavens are sometimes created when over-confident mages toy around with the forces of death. If they cannot control the flux of necrotic energy, but still cling to life with their cruel will, these unlucky mages spontaneously transform into living rifts into the Shadowfell, living darkness filled with malevolence and hate, absorbing strength and arcane puissance alike.

Dark Mavens are usually vaguely humanoidly shapes of pitch black darkness, undulating with sinister energy, and a hint of a grimaced face, shown in the form of flickering purple energy flashes.
[sblock=Rift Maven]
Level 6 Skirmisher
XP 300
Medium shadow humanoid

Initiative +5
Senses Perception +3
Rift Horizon Aura 2; creatures in the aura suffer 5 necrotic damage at the start of their turn and cannot make opportunity attacks.
HP 69 Bloodied 34
AC 17; Fort 14, Ref 17, Will 17
Speed 6
Resist 5 necrotic, 5 radiant

Draining Touch (standard; at-will) * necrotic
+6 vs. Ref; 1d6+5 necrotic damage and the rift maven heals 5 hp.
Mystical Absorption (standard; at-will) * necrotic
+8 vs. Will; 1d6+5 necrotic damage, cannot use daily powers until the end of the rift maven’s next turn, and recharge dark gravitation.
Dark Gravitation (standard; ) * necrotic
Close Burst 3; +8 vs. Fort; 1d6+5 necrotic damage and pull 2 squares.

Alignment Evil
Languages Common
Skills Arcana +12, Stealth +10

Str 12 (+4) Dex 14 (+5) Wis 11 (+3)
Con 13 (+4) Int 18 (+7) Cha 19 (+7) [/sblock]
[sblock=Vortex Maven]
Level 12 Skirmisher
XP 700
Medium shadow humanoid

Initiative +8
Senses Perception +6
Vortex Horizon Aura 3; creatures in the aura suffer 5 necrotic damage at the start of their turn and cannot make opportunity attacks.
HP 114 Bloodied 57
AC 22; Fort 19, Ref 22, Will 22
Speed 8
Resist 10 necrotic, 10 radiant

Absorbing Touch (standard; at-will) * necrotic
+12 vs. Ref; 2d6+5 necrotic damage, 5 ongoing necrotic damage (save ends), and the rift maven heals 10 hp.
Mystical Absorption (standard; at-will) * necrotic
+15 vs. Will; 2d6+5 necrotic damage, cannot use daily powers until the end of the rift maven’s next turn, recharge dark vortex and shadow step.
Dark Vortex (standard; ) * necrotic
Close Burst 5; +15 vs. Fort; 2d6+5 necrotic damage and pull 3 squares.
Shadow Step (minor; )
Teleport 4 squares.


Alignment Evil
Languages Common
Skills Arcana +15, Stealth +13

Str 12 (+7) Dex 14 (+8) Wis 11 (+6)
Con 13 (+7) Int 18 (+10) Cha 20 (+11) [/sblock]
Cheers, LT.

 

[malcolm_n]

The regen is way powerful. Maybe consider toning it down to recharge 5-6. Even with that, the first troll you posted could easily be an elite encounter. If most combat takes up to 8 rounds now, you're looking at him almost doubling his hit points with the At-will version of that.

The monsters are good, but they may be better suited at +5 levels each. At 13, your brute just needs adjusted numbers to be fine, for example. This may not be true for all of them, but about that kinda raise should keep them balanced to fight parties.
A big thing to remember; non-elite/solo are meant to be 1 for 1 against party.

 

[Khuxan]

Dark Mavens
Dark Mavens are sometimes created when over-confident mages toy around with the forces of death. If they cannot control the flux of necrotic energy, cling to life with cruel will, they sometimes transform into living rifts into the Shadowfell, living darkness filled with malevolence and hate, absorbing strength and arcane puissance alike.

What do mavens look like? Is it the mages or the mavens that "transform into living rifts"?

 

[WhatGravitas]

The regen is way powerful. Maybe consider toning it down to recharge 5-6. Even with that, the first troll you posted could easily be an elite encounter. If most combat takes up to 8 rounds now, you're looking at him almost doubling his hit points with the At-will version of that.

Right - I'm probably misjudging the effect of the inhibited regeneration - though I think that the party should be able to trigger that constantly. But still, I've tuned it a bit down (mainly to avoid two regenerations per round by trading in actions) and adjusted the melee attacks a bit. Rend is a lot less nastier than before - it requires combat advantage.

But since being prone and being immobilized grants combat advantage, you don't want to fight against a group of trolls - or at least want to spread them out! I think that way, their savage power comes across a bit better - a pack of them first smashes you into the ground, then tries to rip you apart, while you try to stand up again.

Cheers, LT.

 

[malcolm_n]

I would very much use the savage troll in a group as an 8th level encounter now. Great job! You're right, They'd be brutal to fight. I would still not assume the party has fire immediately available, or knows it stops the regen, but that's what running away is for. You can come back after researching the monster and beat face. Fun times, indeed.
with 2 ways to gain health, the shadow troll is still a bit powerful. Call it elite and I'd say it's fine, but that's imo. no time to review the others (on lunch) but you're going in the right direction. When we get these hammered out, would you consider adding them to our monsterous OCC in the original creations thread? let me know and I can earmark them for when i'm done with recent contributions.