Prismatic Sphere at 12th Level!??!?!?

[mikebr99]

(PS - Can someone explain to me how you get "quotes" to look so nice?)

This should be at the beginning of anything you are quoting: (QUOTE)(i) Originally posted by <insert name here>(/i)(B)

And put a (/B)(/QUOTE) at the end of each quote.

The (B) <words> (/B) will bold the quote.

Note: Replace the round brackets with the square ones in everything above!

 

[ashockney]

Thanks! I'll start using that now.

 

[Tiberius]

So the next question I have for you then, is what will you do with it?

a) Use as is, but bump the CR up.
b) Use as is, with the CR, but not throw it/them against the party until at least 16th level.
c) Advance it, and bump the CR up.
d) Not use it.
e) I'm an evil DM I'll use it as is, and throw it against my 8th level party!

I plan to use them as-is, even against 8th (or 5th, 1st, 18th, etc.) level parties. They are oracles, sources of information, not things that wander about picking fights. If the party instigates the fight, then they deserve the TPK that will ensue.

-Tiberius

 

[AuraSeer]

A ticked off Sor18 can hunt you down across the continent, while a weird is tied to its pool. You can walk around the corner and be nigh invulnerable to it.

That's not really relevant. Encountering a Sor18 just once is a CR 18 encounter. If he escapes and tracks you down later, that's a good plot point, but it doesn't make the initial encounter any more difficult.

A Sor18 does not go poof when a dismissal or banishment is tossed at him, cannot be turned by a cleric with the appropriate elemental domain, and isn't stopped dead by a protection from... or magic circle against... spell.

Everything has its vulnerabilities. A Sor18 does probably go poof when hit with a Finger of Death or other high-DC Fort-save-or-die spell. (Items or spells may increase his save bonus, but the same thing applies to the weird.)

Also note that the Magic Circle spells are not particularly useful against monsters with spellcasting abilities. It may not be able to contact you in melee, but it doesn't care because it can still fry you from range.

If a weird casts a prismatic sphere...so what? Now it's even more immobile, and it can't do anything to you. Walk past it, or wait it out if you're that set on killing it. It's not like the weird is going to be able to run away.

As Shard O'Glase points out, PS was just an example, because the weird can cast any Sor/Wiz spell. Meteor Swarm anyone? If you're a 12th-level PC, 24d6 damage will ruin your whole day.

 

[drnuncheon]

That's not really relevant. Encountering a Sor18 just once is a CR 18 encounter. If he escapes and tracks you down later, that's a good plot point, but it doesn't make the initial encounter any more difficult.

It does if you're trying to run away - sorry, that's "make a tactical retreat". And simply encountering a Sor18 is not a CR 18 encounter - overcoming him in some way is a CR18 encounter.

Everything has its vulnerabilities. A Sor18 does probably go poof when hit with a Finger of Death or other high-DC Fort-save-or-die spell.

So will a weird. The dismissal and banishment are additional vulnerabilities.

Also note that the Magic Circle spells are not particularly useful against monsters with spellcasting abilities. It may not be able to contact you in melee, but it doesn't care because it can still fry you from range.

Note the tactics and special abilities. The magic circles and protections will certainly hedge out their elemental allies.

As Shard O'Glase points out, PS was just an example, because the weird can cast any Sor/Wiz spell. Meteor Swarm anyone? If you're a 12th-level PC, 24d6 damage will ruin your whole day.

Not "any". It has to choose its spells known just like a sorcerer. The point is, though, that an 18th level sorcerer has a lot going for it that a weird doesn't. A weird is probably not a challenge for a single 18th level spellcaster, let alone an 18th level party, which suggests that its CR is several steps lower.

Now, I haven't extensively playtested the monster, so I don't know if 12 is accurate or not - I'm just pointing out that there's a lot more to an 18th level sorcerer (and thus a CR 18 encounter) than just his spellcasting ability.

J

Didn't water weirds used to be watery snakes that lived in wells and tried to drown people?

 

[hammymchamham]

I plan to use them as-is, even against 8th (or 5th, 1st, 18th, etc.) level parties. They are oracles, sources of information, not things that wander about picking fights. If the party instigates the fight, then they deserve the TPK that will ensue.

-Tiberius

Exactly.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

I think one of the MM2 designers said that their lack of mobility was a major disadvantage. Even if they cast Fly they have to stay near their pool.