Lolth!

[lukelightning]

Dominating Rebuke (charm) * At-Will
Trigger: An enemy hits Lolth.
Effect (Immediate Reaction): The triggering enemy is dominated until the end of the enemy’s next turn.

Is that an immediate reaction? Or as many times in a round as possible? This seems like a strange power to give her, since she doesn't seem to be an enchantress/dominator/mind goddess.

 

[TerraDave]

I am really liking the previews from this.

Which is odd, as I had no intent of buying another 4E MM (or crunchy hardback).

 

[MrMyth]

I've definitely been impressed by the solos in MM3. The other big bads (Imix and Ogremoch) actually have even more complex stat blocks than this, but that is because they only have one form! Fortunately, even with the complexity, all the stats (for any given form) still fit on a single page. And with the new format, remain relatively easy to run.

 

[Mengu]

Is that an immediate reaction? Or as many times in a round as possible?

The text you quoted says immediate reaction, so... it just might be what it says it is.

 

[Klaus]

Which I guess makes this one "Lol"?

Interestingly, since she doesn't assume the spider form until reduced to 0, that means that if you haven't completed the quest to keep her from discorporating, you won't ever face the spider form.

If I read it correctly, seems like you'll never face her in Spider Queen form until you've earned it by completing the quest.

Which I'm perfectly fine with.

 

[Runestar]

To Mengu,

Thanks for the summary of her attack sequence. I guess it seems like the most obvious and intuitive use of her abilities, but it seems a little lackluster for a lv35 solo (too little damage and too much control, at least to me). It appears that her effectiveness is really contingent on darkfire blinding as many PCs as possible.

The designers apparently took heed of the supposed problems plaguing solos in general and giving her some defenses against them (auto-saves vs status effects, some controller-ish abilities such as immobilizing melee tanks or dazing pesky PCs altogether).

Can anyone provide a summary of the favoured tactics of her subsequent forms and how they are expected to play out?

 

[Scribble]

I am really liking the previews from this.

Which is odd, as I had no intent of buying another 4E MM (or crunchy hardback).

I kind of thought I'd be in the same boat about crunchy hardbacks- But the MMs have the lore, which seems to draw me in quite a bit.

The other stuff, the player focused stuff... I leave that to the Compendium/CB.

 

[lukelightning]

The text you quoted says immediate reaction, so... it just might be what it says it is.

Um, I blame Corellon and those goody-goody elves for clouding my vision....

 

[Klaus]

To Mengu,

Thanks for the summary of her attack sequence. I guess it seems like the most obvious and intuitive use of her abilities, but it seems a little lackluster for a lv35 solo (too little damage and too much control, at least to me). It appears that her effectiveness is really contingent on darkfire blinding as many PCs as possible.

The designers apparently took heed of the supposed problems plaguing solos in general and giving her some defenses against them (auto-saves vs status effects, some controller-ish abilities such as immobilizing melee tanks or dazing pesky PCs altogether).

Can anyone provide a summary of the favoured tactics of her subsequent forms and how they are expected to play out?

Here's what it says:

Lolth in Combat

Lolth guards herself with demonic servants and the most powerful of her loyal drow servitors, and relies on these bodyguards to dispatch those who dare to challenge her in her home. Any adventurers who defeat her guards earn her grudging respect, and her first inclination is to seduce such heroes to her side, weaving intricate webs of deceit and flattery. Those who prove intractable, however, soon discover that her reluctance to join in battle is no indication of weakness.

Lolth fights in her drow form, wielding a terrible barbed scourge that secretes a virulent venom. She uses poison to wrack the bodies and wrench the minds of her foes, turning them upon each other and punishing them when they attack her. When Lolth is seemingly slain, she undergoes a terrible transformation into her true spider form, striking fear into her enemies’ hearts. As a spider, she fights with her bite and her blade-tipped legs, spewing acid-coated webs.

 

[Pseudopsyche]

If I read it correctly, seems like you'll never face her in Spider Queen form until you've earned it by completing the quest.

Which I'm perfectly fine with.

My interpretation differs. Her "Spider Queen" form also has 634 hp, and the trigger for Divine Discorporation is "Lolth drops to 317 hp or fewer." So when the sidebar states, "When Lolth drops to one-quarter of her hit points," I believe it refers to her total hit points across both stat blocks. Without completing an appropriate quest, she transforms after taking 634 hp damage and then discorporates for a while after taking another 317.