MP's Villain Feedback Request

[MortalPlague]

I'm about to throw Pyra at my players tomorrow, so I'd appreciate some of our talented DMs looking over my stat block.

--EDIT: Fight's over, Pyra fell in battle. Quick report later in the thread.--

Pyra Hallish is the head enforcer of a lycanthrope thieves' guild who have started an insurrection; her job is to destroy any threats to the guild (and currently, to keep the army in line). She travels around with a pack of lycanthrope soldiers, and will be encountered with them.


Pyra Hallish (Hybrid Form) -- Level 22 Elite Soldier
Medium natural humanoid (shapechanger) -- XP 8300
HP 422 BL 211 -- Initiative +23
AC 40 F 34 R 37 W 34 -- Perception +18
Speed 8, climb 8 -- Low-light vision

Traits
Regeneration
Pyra regains 15 hit points whenever she starts her turn and has at least 1 hit point. When Pyra takes damage from a silvered weapon, her regeneration does not function on her next turn.

Standard Actions

Savage Claw * At-Will
Attack: Melee 1 (one creature); +27 vs. AC
Hit: 5d6 + 17 damage, and the target is slowed (save ends).

Flurry of Claws * At-Will
Pyra makes two Savage Claw attacks.

Bite * At-Will
Attack: Melee 1 (one prone creature); +27 vs. AC
Hit: 4d10 + 10 damage, and ongoing 20 damage (save ends).

The Throat, It Is Delicious * At-Will
Attack: Melee 1 (one prone creature taking Pyra's ongoing damage); +27 vs. Fortitude
Hit: 4d10 + 20 damage, and the ongoing increases by 10.

Minor Actions
Take The Legs * At-Will
Attack: Melee 1 (one creature); +27 vs. Reflex
Hit: 1d10 + 8 damage, and the target is knocked prone.

Change Shape (polymorph) * At-Will
Effect: Pyra alters her physical form to appear as a Medium wolf, unique human, or hybrid.

Triggered Actions
Pounce of the Huntress * At-Will
Trigger: An enemy shifts out of a square adjacent to Pyra.
Effect (immediate reaction); Pyra shifts up to her speed to a sqaure adjacent to the target. She may move through enemies' spaces with this movement.

Roll With The Blow * At-Will
Trigger: An enemy damages Pyra with a melee attack.
Effect (immediate reaction); Pyra makes the following attack against the triggering creature;
Attack: Melee 1 (one creature); +27 vs. Reflex
Hit: 2d10 + 10 damage, and the target is grabbed and knocked prone. Pyra shifts 1 square, pulling the target with her. The target cannot stand up from prone until they escape the grab.

Free Actions
Unstoppable * At-Will
If Pyra is immobilized, she may take 10 damage and become slowed instead.

 

[Quickleaf]

Can I offer a page from my DM playbook about regeneration? Add to Pyra's regeneration the ability to shake off a "until end of your next turn" condition or make saves at the start of her turn.

Oh, how much of your group has silver weapons? For the casters I recommend some way for them to overcome her regeneration, like a piece of wolfsbane as a spell component.

 

[MortalPlague]

Can I offer a page from my DM playbook about regeneration? Add to Pyra's regeneration the ability to shake off a "until end of your next turn" condition or make saves at the start of her turn.

That's a really interesting idea; tying a condition shake-off to her regeneration. It would make it more competitive. 15 hit points doesn't amount to much when she's got 400 of them.

Oh, how much of your group has silver weapons? For the casters I recommend some way for them to overcome her regeneration, like a piece of wolfsbane as a spell component.

Two of my group have Lunia's Bracelet, which allows your weapons to be treated as if they're silver. Another character has a silver weapon. So I'm not concerned about them being able to stop her from regenerating.

 

[Quickleaf]

[MENTION=62721]MortalPlague[/MENTION]
Yeah that should do the trick. A few more suggestions...

Make "Pounce of te Huntress" into an opportunity action. This makes her super-mobile (she's a werecat right?) and doesn't compete with "Roll with the Blows."

Incorporate into her "Change Shape" granting her saves against a condition affecting movement and maybe make an escape check if grabbed. You could throw in a small shift for good measure.

What about some kind of "Pounce and Pin" power which knocks prone and restrains and grant her opportunity attacks if the opponent tries to stand? I used that for a werewolf boss to great effect once.

 

[MortalPlague]

[MENTION=62721]MortalPlague[/MENTION]
Make "Pounce of te Huntress" into an opportunity action. This makes her super-mobile (she's a werecat right?) and doesn't compete with "Roll with the Blows."

She's a werewolf, actually. The leader of the gang is a weretiger, and a skirmisher. So I don't want to play up Pyra's mobility so much. I really don't see her using Pounce very often, but I wanted it there for the odd time she's next to a caster and not next to a melee character. Still, I'm going to consider making it an opportunity action... letting her use it to escape a flank would be an interesting idea.

Incorporate into her "Change Shape" granting her saves against a condition affecting movement and maybe make an escape check if grabbed. You could throw in a small shift for good measure.

Not sure about this one. I don't want her to be changing shape very often; her human form has a different, but vastly inferior set of powers. I'm counting on the climb speed to get her out of trouble; they'll be fighting her in a cavern, if all goes well, where she can scramble up walls, along ceilings, and generally be dangerous.

What about some kind of "Pounce and Pin" power which knocks prone and restrains and grant her opportunity attacks if the opponent tries to stand? I used that for a werewolf boss to great effect once.

Roll With The Blow pretty much does this. The pounce part of things I'm leaving to the skirmisher final boss (and she certainly does pounce).

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

I'm about to throw Pyra at my players tomorrow, so I'd appreciate some of our talented DMs looking over my stat block.

Pyra Hallish is the head enforcer of a lycanthrope thieves' guild who have started an insurrection; her job is to destroy any threats to the guild (and currently, to keep the army in line). She travels around with a pack of lycanthrope soldiers, and will be encountered with them.


Pyra Hallish (Hybrid Form) -- Level 22 Elite Soldier
Medium natural humanoid (shapechanger) -- XP 8300
HP 422 BL 211 -- Initiative +23
AC 40 F 34 R 37 W 34 -- Perception +18
Speed 8, climb 8 -- Low-light vision

Do you intend Pyra to be an elite or a solo? You call her an elite, but she has so many actions per round she's more like a solo.

She has an AC of 40, which is too high. Even a soldier of her level should only have an AC of 38.

I don't know why she has a climb speed of 8. Do werewolves having a climb speed make sense, and if so, why does she climb as fast a monkey?

Traits
Regeneration
Pyra regains 15 hit points whenever she starts her turn and has at least 1 hit point. When Pyra takes damage from a silvered weapon, her regeneration does not function on her next turn.

Standard Actions

Savage Claw * At-Will
Attack: Melee 1 (one creature); +27 vs. AC
Hit: 5d6 + 17 damage, and the target is slowed (save ends).

The damage is slightly too high (by 4 points). Otherwise the numbers are perfect. The rider effect is very good for a soldier.

Flurry of Claws * At-Will
Pyra makes two Savage Claw attacks.

Makes perfect sense, but see comments about # of actions below.

Bite * At-Will
Attack: Melee 1 (one prone creature); +27 vs. AC
Hit: 4d10 + 10 damage, and ongoing 20 damage (save ends).

Damage is fine, considering it's a limited attack.

The Throat, It Is Delicious * At-Will
Attack: Melee 1 (one prone creature taking Pyra's ongoing damage); +27 vs. Fortitude
Hit: 4d10 + 20 damage, and the ongoing increases by 10.

I don't know about this power. She's already stacking on the damage with bite... The name is fun though. If a power of the same name (take away the requirement other than requiring the opponent to be prone) did this damage, it should instead have a requirement that Pyra be bloodied. (See comments at bottom.)

Minor Actions
Take The Legs * At-Will
Attack: Melee 1 (one creature); +27 vs. Reflex
Hit: 1d10 + 8 damage, and the target is knocked prone.

Now the # of actions per round is starting to stack up. This does less damage than an at-will should do, but combined with Flurry of Claws you're going over the limits.

My recommendation is to remove Flurry of Claws and beef up the damage on this power. Using Take the Legs every round before her second attack means she can use Bite anytime Take the Legs hits. (Otherwise she'll have to use Savage Claws, which isn't bad.)

Also, the attack bonus is 2 points too high. (Attacks vs NADs are 2 points lower unless the creature is a controller or artillery.) I like that it attacks something other than AC, which lets her be dangerous to a wider range of opponents.

Change Shape (polymorph) * At-Will
Effect: Pyra alters her physical form to appear as a Medium wolf, unique human, or hybrid.

Triggered Actions
Pounce of the Huntress * At-Will
Trigger: An enemy shifts out of a square adjacent to Pyra.
Effect (immediate reaction); Pyra shifts up to her speed to a sqaure adjacent to the target. She may move through enemies' spaces with this movement.

This is great for a soldier. No wizards running away. It's a bit of reverse stickiness, in that she's sticking to the opponent rather than making them stick to her.

Roll With The Blow * At-Will
Trigger: An enemy damages Pyra with a melee attack.
Effect (immediate reaction); Pyra makes the following attack against the triggering creature;
Attack: Melee 1 (one creature); +27 vs. Reflex
Hit: 2d10 + 10 damage, and the target is grabbed and knocked prone. Pyra shifts 1 square, pulling the target with her. The target cannot stand up from prone until they escape the grab.

As stated above, she's getting a lot of actions per round. She can easily (and reliably) get 4 per round now, putting her into solo territory. The attack bonus is 2 points too high, and the damage is a tad low (about three points short).

If you're keeping this, I would recommend putting the escape DC into the stat block. (It keeps you from forgetting. Believe me, I have to do this with any creature I use that has a grab attack).

Free Actions
Unstoppable * At-Will
If Pyra is immobilized, she may take 10 damage and become slowed instead.

This is a pretty cool ability. She's an elite, not a solo, so she doesn't need the gamut of condition-stopping abilities. Well, maybe. I have no experience with epic, but other contributors will have more to say on this topic.

As an epic elite, she needs two more encounter/recharge abilities, and should get tougher in some way when bloodied. I like "The Throat, It Is Delicious" being available at that point.

 

[MortalPlague]

Do you intend Pyra to be an elite or a solo? You call her an elite, but she has so many actions per round she's more like a solo.

She falls into a somewhat odd category for me; she's an elite, but she's also a campaign Named Villain, so I feel she should have more powers and capabilities at her disposal. It's also why her armor is a little inflated. She's meant to be an absolute brute to take down, but I'm in the camp that believes that humanoids should never be solo monsters. I like to think that's strictly the territory of dragons and great beasts.

I don't know why she has a climb speed of 8. Do werewolves having a climb speed make sense, and if so, why does she climb as fast a monkey?

Sharp claws and strength. I wanted to give her a type of mobility that's different from battlefield mobility, and the climb speed is the method I decided to use.

I don't know about this power. She's already stacking on the damage with bite... The name is fun though. If a power of the same name (take away the requirement other than requiring the opponent to be prone) did this damage, it should instead have a requirement that Pyra be bloodied. (See comments at bottom.)

That might be a really clever idea; if this simply replaced bite when she became bloodied, this would work really well. The idea behind this power is so that she has a really strong punisher if she keeps the foe pinned and trapped.

The concern I had was if she used Bite, then action point, then Throat all in one turn. It could get messy. But she needs to hit twice, spends her action point, and still doesn't get the ongoing till the target acts...

Now the # of actions per round is starting to stack up. This does less damage than an at-will should do, but combined with Flurry of Claws you're going over the limits.

My recommendation is to remove Flurry of Claws and beef up the damage on this power. Using Take the Legs every round before her second attack means she can use Bite anytime Take the Legs hits. (Otherwise she'll have to use Savage Claws, which isn't bad.)

Something to consider, definitely. The "Flurry of Claws" power is useful if she gets daze-locked... The number of actions per round, however, I'm comfortable with. If she were a regular elite, I wouldn't push it, but as a Named Villain, I want to give her the benefit of being able to go to town on people.

Also, the attack bonus is 2 points too high. (Attacks vs NADs are 2 points lower unless the creature is a controller or artillery.) I like that it attacks something other than AC, which lets her be dangerous to a wider range of opponents.

I think it's controllers and soldiers who don't lose accuracy against NADs. Power2ool indicates that the soldier attack bonus is the same. And I'm pretty sure artillery doesn't get that bonus, but instead gets a bonus on any ranged attack.

As stated above, she's getting a lot of actions per round. She can easily (and reliably) get 4 per round now, putting her into solo territory. The attack bonus is 2 points too high, and the damage is a tad low (about three points short).

If you're keeping this, I would recommend putting the escape DC into the stat block. (It keeps you from forgetting. Believe me, I have to do this with any creature I use that has a grab attack).

I love the visual I get whenever I picture this power. This is definitely a power to let her snag and pin the tank. The only thing to remember is that while this could go off every round, so long as she maintains the grab, it won't.

This is a pretty cool ability. She's an elite, not a solo, so she doesn't need the gamut of condition-stopping abilities. Well, maybe. I have no experience with epic, but other contributors will have more to say on this topic.

This power was the only direct response to my group's fighting over the first two sessions. I've got a ranger who has 2-3 immobilizing attacks, and my sorcerer has an immobilizing attack. In so many fights, the whole battle just became completely static for the first few rounds due to half the field being immoblized, and by the time they would break free and get to move, the battle would be all but over. Immobilize is the only common condition which would completely shut down my villain, so I gave her the chance to remove it, but not to completely shrug it off.

As an epic elite, she needs two more encounter/recharge abilities, and should get tougher in some way when bloodied. I like "The Throat, It Is Delicious" being available at that point.

Again, that's a really good thought. Thanks for the feedback.

Some good suggestions in this thread!

 

[MortalPlague]

The fight is over! Pyra is dead!

She was a tough combatant, but the sorcerer went to work on her, and made her sorry she'd picked the fight. Once he had Pyra dazed, much of her damaging power went away. She had a couple of nice critical hits, but the sheer damage output of some 19th level strikers put her out of the fight by the end.

She didn't get a chance to use either triggered power (the daze saw to that), and she didn't get to use her 'Delicious Throat' power. Everything else saw use, however. And she proved to be a tough opponent.