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Message: <blockquote data-quote="rushlight" data-source="post: 4339311" data-attributes="member: 3801">I believe that the Vermin Handler is just fine.  Personally, I put one in an encounter, along with 4 Kobold Skirmishers and 8 Minions for a challenge against my party of 6 1st level players.  At first I was concerned about the level 3 Handler, but in the end it was the Skirmishers who did the heavy lifting.  Once the players got in close, the Handler did his encounter attack, but the PC saved, so it accomplished little.  Afterward, they closed in and his ranged attack wasn't worth all that much.Personally, I believe the problem your party had was in tactics.  The wizard shouldn't be that close to the fray.  If he's going to wander up into close range, he's should expect to be kissing ground often.  In my group, the Fighter, a Warlord, and a Rogue all stayed between the Handler and the squishy Wizard and Warlock - with the Cleric playing between the two groups.  However, the Warlord *did* drop - he found himself between two Skirmishers dealing extra damage from CA plus a crit.  They weren't fond of the Kobold 'Shifty' ability...You should keep in mind your party's lack of front-line support.  The Handler is scary at range - but once they close the distance, he's a chump.  If however most or all of your party tends to fight from range, an Artillery monster is going to be far more dangerous than average.  They just won't have the melee chops to do it right - even when they close, it will be hard.  Having that Paladin may have made a difference, although a Fighter might have been better.  Standing next to the Handler, it's going to have a hard time getting off ranged attacks, and with the Fighter's ability and meatiness, the Handler will have a hard time picking on softer targets.</blockquote>

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