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Message: <blockquote data-quote="moritheil" data-source="post: 2678114" data-attributes="member: 30610">True.I understand how the EL system works; I just have never gotten it to work accurately except with goblins, skeletons, and zombies.  Anything higher, and in particular, anything with intelligence that I play intelligently, will threaten a TPK.  And, well, I agree that it's probably some combination of lack of tactical savvy and group imbalance, but I have a policy of not forcing anyone to play anything, so the two concerns collide.I'm approaching this more from the "what would make someone really understand their lack of tactical finesse?" angle.  The party is most lacking in defense against hit-and-run tactics, so I figure I can belabor the point and make a learning experience of it.  Furthermore, I think a vampire cleric who fights to the death would be guaranteed to take down at least one or two PCs.  The advantage it has over a human cleric is that a human cleric won't automatically turn into a gaseous cloud and disappear, leaving the party with the sinking feeling that they've just managed to piss off a powerful villain.  It's a built-in plot device, as it were.I don't tend to consciously plan PC escape routes; I find it fascinating that you mention that.  Normally I figure that if the PCs weren't smart enough to secure their way out while wading into a situation, they've made their bed and they can lie down in it.Finally, most DMs have too many people playing Clerics; I have the opposite problem.  I almost welcome someone using Divine Metamagic and Spikes.  (Though, Spikes, GMW, Brambles . . . I don't think I'd let them all stack, either.)  I have yet to see truly questionable cheese in this game, because I don't take players who are incapable of understanding that the DM can always answer trash with better trash, and it does not help anyone to go down the path of the arms race.Oh, and back on the subject of the vampire cleric: I'm thinking this is my choice, due to the current campaign locale.  I would be remiss if I passed up the opportunity to have a vampire villain while the group was in Ravenloft.  I think the vampire will be taking the Demon and Darkness domains (and interpreting the Demon domain power to bestow its divine +1 bonus to slam attacks.)  If I wanted to be silly, I'd designate it Evolved Undead for a +1 LA and roll to see if it got Circle of Death, Cloudkill, Cone of Cold, or something similarly excruciating as an SLA, but that option seemes less horrific and more simply antagonistic.   <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f61b.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue    :p"  data-smilie="7"data-shortname=":p" /></blockquote>

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