Need some allies for an evil fey controller

[NewJeffCT]

The PCs are going into the campaign finale next week. Since I'm relocating and our house sold much faster than we thought, we had to really push up the campaign end and skip over a lot of build-up.

The party is going to be level 24.
1) Eladrin Rogue
2) Elf Ranger
3) Human Wizard
4) Human Shaman
5) Goliath Barbarian/Warden hybrid
6) Human Fighter

So, the BBEG is an evil fey controller type, so I'm going to give her some charm powers, but maybe some also that help evil fey allies and/or hinder her foes.

However, what are some good allies for this fey controller?

I had used fomorians a few sessions back, so I'd prefer something different. Also, it does not have to be fey allies - just something appropriate that works well with a controller.

Also, maybe some terrain that would work well with a controller.

Thanks

 

[marelion]

Give her an Aura 10 that slows opponents who end their turn in it and have it deal damage to enemies entering it.

Something like:

Web of Lies and Illusions *Aura 10*

Psychic, Illusion, Charm

Effect: Enemies who end their turn in the Aura are slowed until the end of their next turn. Additionally, any enemy who starts his turn within the Aura or who enters a square within the Aura takes 15 psychic damage.


Controllers are all about the status effects they deliver and by giving your BBEG an auto-damaging aura you can give your leaders a harder time at removing them, since to end those nasty XXX(save ends)-effects they will have to enter the zone for either getting into range for their saving-throw-granting powers or to get adjactent and perform Heal checks.

Slowed opponents will not be able to engage her too quickly and to make doubly-sure, give her a MBA that can slide targets around

Terain-wise I would add some hazardous terrain to give her an edge over the heroes. Have they ever met the stairs of doom yet? Place her on a well defended platform in the middle of the room so that her Aura can cover as large a part of the battleield as possible and make this platform accessible by stairs. These stairs can become slides when the heroes step on them.

Slippery Stairs Hazardous Terrain

Trigger: An enemy enters a square of slippery stairs
Effect: The enemy is subject to an attack vs Reflex(away from books, so I can`t come up with appropriate numbers)

Hit: The target is knocked prone and pushed 5 squares

Identify: Perception (Hard)

Countermeassures: Moderate Acrobatics checks to avoid falling prone and only be pushed 1 square on a hit.

Just some ideas to start the idea-engine^^

 

[nogray]

So, the BBEG is an evil fey controller type, so I'm going to give her some charm powers, but maybe some also that help evil fey allies and/or hinder her foes.

However, what are some good allies for this fey controller?

I had used fomorians a few sessions back, so I'd prefer something different. Also, it does not have to be fey allies - just something appropriate that works well with a controller.

Also, maybe some terrain that would work well with a controller.

Thanks

What sort of fey controller? Winter court fey would indicate different allies and powers than summer, for instance. There are a lot of factions from which to choose.

Without more information, I can only point out the general advice with which I am sure you are already aware. Controllers (except melee controllers) like soldiers and brutes to keep things at a distance, lurkers and skirmishers to deal damage (and take advantage of statuses that they inflict), and terrain that makes it hard to get to them. (Controllers are like artillery that way.)

The important thing to me would be to make sure allies have some way to take advantage of the statuses. This could range from her slowing enemies and an allied skirmisher gaining combat advantage (or just inflicting extra damage on) slowed enemies.

Give me more information and I can assist a lot more.

 

[marelion]

I agreee, more specific informatiojn would be a great help.

As for potential allies for the fey, I would suggest you take a group of flying skirmishers and maybe include a lurker. Flying enemies will not trigger the slippery stairs trap and they make great hit-and-run sort of fighters, which fits nicely with a slowing aura

I would generally advise you not to combine soldiers with controllers for a bossfight since the twop types combined tend to slow combat down too much and, more importantly, they both have a lot of immediate actions to think of, which might slow YOU down as a GM. Your fey will be solo or atr least elite, so she should be able to take some punishment on her own.

Go for the pain and increase the damage output so that the status effects can hurt the PCs even more. The hazardous terrain already gives your fey a nice wall of defense imho.

Some more terrain-advice to go with my idea from the post above: Give her something like a pavillion on her plattform where she can gain cover against ranged attacks.

Idea 1

A nice setup could be the classic forbidden garden. Add some trees, a pond and the aforementioned plattform with a shrine in the middle. And if you really want to rock, giver your fey a power to shift the natural part of the environment.

Cycle of Nature

At the start of her turn XXX(insert BBEG here) uses a free action to change to the next season.

Each season would then have specific effects, so that for example in autumn, falling leaves could grant cover from ranged attacks or during summer her attacks might deal additional fire damage.

Of course, this setup would require quite a bit of work, but it would surely do for a memorable boss fight.

Idea 2

Use levelled up Vrocks and use them as alchemical-fuelled bombers. They could have a flyby-attack and at any time during the movement they would drop fragile flasks from their claws to deliver an AoE-attack against your PCs, meaning they could work like a dragon in some ways only less lame because their numbers would render control effects from your PCs a lot less devastating

 

[contraserrene]

You need an Owlbear Swarm.

 

[NewJeffCT]

What sort of fey controller? Winter court fey would indicate different allies and powers than summer, for instance. There are a lot of factions from which to choose.

Without more information, I can only point out the general advice with which I am sure you are already aware. Controllers (except melee controllers) like soldiers and brutes to keep things at a distance, lurkers and skirmishers to deal damage (and take advantage of statuses that they inflict), and terrain that makes it hard to get to them. (Controllers are like artillery that way.)

The important thing to me would be to make sure allies have some way to take advantage of the statuses. This could range from her slowing enemies and an allied skirmisher gaining combat advantage (or just inflicting extra damage on) slowed enemies.

Give me more information and I can assist a lot more.

I didn't know there were different types of fey controllers - I had just modified Baba Yaga in the monster builder (fey solo controller) and changed a few powers around and made sure the damage was MM3 compliant.

I was going to change to elite instead of solo so she could have more allies and I could have more terrain/trap effects.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

If the controller has restrained or blinded as an effect, obviously you must use skirmishers with the Combat Advantage trait.

Obvious advice, but you should have enemies that attack whatever defenses the controller doesn't.

 

[nogray]

I was referring to allegiance in the above post. There are various courts of fey, led by archfey of various sorts. The Prince of Frost leads the winter fey, Tiandra leads the summer fey, and Oran the Green Lord rules the green fey (nature/plant sorts of creatures). Then, there are unseelie fey, among which Baba Yaga is a powerful representative.

Don't be afraid to really over-level the encounter, as it sounds like a campaign ending battle. Keep Baba Yaga as a solo and add more underlings, too. I recently had my (level 16) battle a Mooncalf Rogue and two Floating Mantle Bluestings. A couple rounds into the battle, Calastryx showed up. While I had the two solos toss the odd attack at one another, the party inflicted the lion's share of the damage to both of the big bads. (They had killed off the Bluestings before Calastryx even made it to the fight.) High level 4e characters can be quite resilient. Depending on how much the party can prepare for the encounter and how few battles they have to go through before the finale, I wouldn't be too shy about throwing the kitchen sink at them.

If you want to keep the identity of their foe as Baba Yaga, feel free to tweak her hut by making it a level 24-ish elite brute, keep her as a level 27-ish solo (maybe down-leveled a bit), and have some spawning minions / regular creatures. I'd recommend some skirmisher or lurker "dark fey" critters that crawl out of her bubbling cauldron (maybe base them off the Drow Shadowblade and Exalted Consorts from MM3), and have her spawn 1-3 minions each time she uses her "sweep the field" attack (animated straws that break off from the broom). Base the minions off, say, corrupted gluttons, but given a fly (hover) speed. Have the skirmisher or lurkers spawn a couple times during the fight, like when Baba Yaga or her hut use their action points, or even have one of each always present (so that as soon as one falls, another crawls out of the cauldron).

Let me know if any of that is sounding good to you, or if you have something else in mind. I really enjoy thinking of enemies, as my own PCs are swiftly approaching epic tier. (Level 16 and counting....)

 

[NewJeffCT]

excellent ideas nogray and marelion. Thanks!

Not sure if I'll use the hut or not, as it's kind of an iconic item from way back in 1E days and this fey leader is not really Baba Yaga.

One more thing - the eladrin in the party has a demon tied to him due to a pact made with his dying love. (I forgot which dragon or dungeon it was from, but it was rated as a "Boon") - early on in the campaign, he did some research on it and it was found that he could free his love's soul from the demon by freeing the demon from service to its ultimate master, who will obviously now be this fey controller.

I need to work that in there as well. Does the fey controller have some way to break this pact on her own and have the summoned demon work for her? Something else?

 

[NewJeffCT]

If you want to keep the identity of their foe as Baba Yaga, feel free to tweak her hut by making it a level 24-ish elite brute, keep her as a level 27-ish solo (maybe down-leveled a bit), and have some spawning minions / regular creatures. I'd recommend some skirmisher or lurker "dark fey" critters that crawl out of her bubbling cauldron (maybe base them off the Drow Shadowblade and Exalted Consorts from MM3), and have her spawn 1-3 minions each time she uses her "sweep the field" attack (animated straws that break off from the broom). Base the minions off, say, corrupted gluttons, but given a fly (hover) speed. Have the skirmisher or lurkers spawn a couple times during the fight, like when Baba Yaga or her hut use their action points, or even have one of each always present (so that as soon as one falls, another crawls out of the cauldron).

Let me know if any of that is sounding good to you, or if you have something else in mind. I really enjoy thinking of enemies, as my own PCs are swiftly approaching epic tier. (Level 16 and counting....)

Thanks - I was thinking of the drow exalted consort & shadowblade as well, not to mention the zealot as a brute.