D&D 5E Rate the challenge of this npc!

[adam_antio]

Tell me the challenge rating of this goliath! I was aiming for something between 5 and 8.


STORMPRIEST OF THE NORTHERN GODS
Medium humanoid (goliath), chaotic good

AC 13 (hide armor)
HP 67 (9d8+27)
Spee 30 ft., fly 20 ft.

Str 16, Dex 10, Con 17, Int 8, Wis 18, Cha 10

Saves Con +6, Wis +7
Skills religion +2, survival +7, athletics +6
Damage Resistances cold, lightning, thunder
Senses passive perception 14
Languages Common, Giant, Primordial
CR 6? 7?

Spellcasting. The stormpriest is a 9th level spellcaster. His spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 15, +7 to hit with spell attacks). The stormpriest has the following cleric spells prepared:

Cantrips (at will): thaumaturgy, mending, resistance, sacred flame
1st level (4 slots): fog cloud, thunderwave, healing word, sanctuary, shield of faith
2nd level (3 slots): gust of wind, shatter, lesser restoration, enhance ability, spirit weapon
3rd level (3 slots): call lightning, sleet storm, protection from energy, spiritual guardians, meld into stone
4th level (3 slots): control water, ice storm, guardian of faith, death ward, stone shape
5th level (1 slot): destructive wave, insect plague, legend lore

Storm Blessed. During a storm, roll 1d6 at the start of the stormpriest's turn. He recovers an expendend spell slot of level equal or lower than the result. On a 6, he also heals 10 hit points and has advantage on all attacks until the start of his next turn.

ACTIONS
Maul of the Storm Giants. Melee Weapon attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6+4) bludgeoning damage plus 9 (2d8) thunder damage. The target must succeed in a Strenght saving throw (DC 15) or be shoved back 10ft. away from the stormpriest, landing prone. This is a magic weapon attack.

Lightning Strike. Ranged Spell Attack: +7 to hit, range 120 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d10) lightning damage. The target must succeed in a Constitution saving throw (DC 15) or being stunned until the end of the priest's next turn.

REACTIONS
Stone's Endurance (Short Rest). When the stormpriest suffers damage, roll 1d12+3 and reduce the damage by the total.

Flashing Wrath. When hit by an attack, if the stormpriest can see the attacker and he's within 120 ft. of them, the stormpriest can use his Lightning Strike as a reaction against the attacker.

 

[Tormyr]

Roughly a 6. I am guessing at the high level spell damage because I don't have a PHB with me.
Defensive CR is a 3.
Offensive CR is about a 9.

You can download the CR calculator I use at http://www.enworld.org/forum/rpgdownloads.php?do=download&downloadid=1189

I would also suggest that Storm Blessed become a limited number of uses per long or short rest to bring it in line with the Wizard's ability to charge slots on a short rest. Stone's Endurance probably does not need to be once per short rest as the rogue's Uncanny Dodge is similar and can be used each round.

 

[Lancelot]

Either a 6 or a 7.

It's comparable to a Challenge 6 Mage from the Monster Manual (MM page 347), which is a 9th level wizard. The Mage has a better AC (assuming pre-cast mage armor), but fewer HP.

The Mage has a more dangerous spell selection. It has the notorious counterspell / shield combination, which almost guarantees that it will have a useful Reaction every round. It has at least as much damaging firepower. The improved invisibility is very dangerous, given the Mage can move-cast-move. Unless the PCs have a way of countering this, it's a big problem.

The NPC above has a damaging (and possibly stunning) reaction, which is pretty good... but this is only arguably as good as the Mage's ability to effectively negate at least one incoming attack per round with either counterspell or shield. The NPC has unquestionably better melee ability, but that's a red herring. Both the NPC and the Mage are primarily going to be relying on spells. Finally, the Storm-Blessed ability is probably irrelevant to Challenge. I don't see either the NPC or the Mage expending all of their spell slots before either the PCs are victorious, or they're taken out.

The one thing that might nudge the NPC into Challenge 7 for me would be the Fly Speed. If the party is primarily melee attackers, they're in for a rough fight. But then, if a party fighting a standard MM Mage doesn't have a way of dealing with improved invisibility, the same is true.

So... Challenge 6, for me. With an understanding that it's a pretty dangerous Challenge 6 unless the PCs have a well-balanced party with options such as counterspell, dispel magic, silence, flight, ranged attacks, etc.