Red Hand of Doom 4.0

[Boarstorm]

That's quite interesting, Keterys.

I really like how you made it a race against destroying the heads versus being patient and chipping away at the bag of HP.

It really makes me want to know what they cut from the hydra at the last minute. This kind of thing should have been in the core writeup, in my opinion.

A couple questions and comments, if you'll indulge me:

1) So essentially all daze/dominate/stun do is prevent it from spitting poison? Could the hydra swap its move action for a minor action, if it so desired while under the effect of one of those conditions? I would think so, but the way that ability is worded is a little confusing ("loses its minor action" as opposed to "loses a minor action").

2) Applying fire/acid to the stumps is a pretty tried-and-true fantasy trope when dealing with hydras, while crits are not. What made you decide to go that route for ensuring the heads stay chopped?

2a) How do you feel about crits chopping off heads instead of a set HP value? It could potentially make a critical hit feel more rewarding for the players. Downside: it could lead to some wonky results ("My arrow cut a head off?"). Not that the same exact argument couldn't be made for HP-depletion either, of course.

3) Hydra Fury as the sole source of "multi-headed goodness" -- I would consider adding a minimum number of heads that you can use this power with. A single head making a close burst attack makes me picture the business end of a weed wacker. The gain in complexity may not be worth the effort, however.

 

[Boarstorm]

Couldn't sleep.

Here are some dead kittens.

[sblock]
Ghost Lion Brute Level 8 Lurker
Large shadow beast (undead) XP 350
Initiative +13 Senses Perception +10; darkvision
HP 70; Bloodied 35
AC 22; Fortitude 21, Reflex 23, Will 19
Immune disease, poison; Resist insubstantial
Speed fly 7 (hover); phasing
Claws (standard; at-will) * Necrotic
+13 vs. AC; 2d6 + 5 necrotic damage.
Bloodcurling Roar (standard; encounter) * Fear
Close burst 5; targets enemies; +11 vs. Will; the target is dazed (save ends).
Alignment Unaligned Languages —
Skills Stealth +19
Str 15 (+6) Dex 21 (+9) Wis 13 (+5)
Con 16 (+7) Int 2 (+0) Cha 12 (+5)

Dire Ghost Lion Level 8 Elite Brute
Large shadow beast (undead) XP 700
Initiative +13 Senses Perception +10; darkvision
HP 212; Bloodied 106; see also bloodied gaze
AC 22; Fortitude 24, Reflex 25, Will 19
Immune disease, poison; Resist insubstantial
Saving Throws: +2
Speed fly 7 (hover); phasing
Action Points: 1
Shadow Claws (standard; at-will) * Necrotic
+11 vs. AC; 2d8 + 4 necrotic damage and the Dire Ghost Lion gains 5 temporary hit points.
Corrupting Gaze (standard; recharge 5 6) * Necrotic
1 target within Close burst 5; +8 vs. Will; 4d6+5 necrotic damage and the target is stunned until the end of the dire ghost lion’s next turn (save ends).
Bloodied Gaze (free when first bloodied; encounter) * Necrotic
Dire ghost lion’s corrupting gaze recharges, and dire ghost lion uses it immediately.
Alignment Unaligned Languages —
Skills Stealth +19
Str 19 (+8) Dex 19 (+8) Wis 13 (+5)
Con 16 (+7) Int 2 (+0) Cha 12 (+5)
[/sblock]

I had a heck of a time trying to come up with some controller-y abilities for the Dire Ghost Lion. In the end, I gave up and dubbed it a brute instead. Not ideal in regards to the "game plan" above, but maybe it'll work.

 

[keterys]

That's quite interesting, Keterys.

I really like how you made it a race against destroying the heads versus being patient and chipping away at the bag of HP.

It really makes me want to know what they cut from the hydra at the last minute. This kind of thing should have been in the core writeup, in my opinion.

A couple questions and comments, if you'll indulge me:

1) So essentially all daze/dominate/stun do is prevent it from spitting poison? Could the hydra swap its move action for a minor action, if it so desired while under the effect of one of those conditions? I would think so, but the way that ability is worded is a little confusing ("loses its minor action" as opposed to "loses a minor action").

2) Applying fire/acid to the stumps is a pretty tried-and-true fantasy trope when dealing with hydras, while crits are not. What made you decide to go that route for ensuring the heads stay chopped?

2a) How do you feel about crits chopping off heads instead of a set HP value? It could potentially make a critical hit feel more rewarding for the players. Downside: it could lead to some wonky results ("My arrow cut a head off?"). Not that the same exact argument couldn't be made for HP-depletion either, of course.

3) Hydra Fury as the sole source of "multi-headed goodness" -- I would consider adding a minimum number of heads that you can use this power with. A single head making a close burst attack makes me picture the business end of a weed wacker. The gain in complexity may not be worth the effort, however.

1) Yeah, I mean just that it loses its minor action from its standard, move, and minor per turn. I'll modify appropriately to just say it gets a standard and move, say. It gives it one less action, whether that's moving, spitting, or growing new heads (though it should do that right away if it can)

2) Two reasons - First, the tactic is _really_ known and would be a little too easy to do now. For a monster that's supposed to last for 10ish rounds of combat, I don't want it to be so easy to not use its signature ability. Suppose I could change it to anyone who hits with that type gets to make a secondary attack against Fortitude or somesuch... the option I had considered was an attack of the right type that did at least X damage.
Second - I wanted to make critical hits more special against it and I wanted everyone able to contribute to killing heads. I remember fighting hydras in 3.x and going 'So... we could kill the heads... but why would we _ever_ do so??'

2a) I thought about it, but figured it would make things a little too streaky - basically you might have an entire fight without it happening, and what's the fun in that And yeah, I added 'or destroyed' to the beheading line for a reason. An arrow blasting through a neck I could buy, or the lingering flames from a fireball eventually burning through. The DM can even set things up in advance as it gets close. 'Your greatsword almost beheads the creature and it staggers back, the head snapping at the air in pain as its green blood sprays over the area.' followed by 'Your arrow pierces its side and it screams in pain, its head flopping to the floor where it continues to bite ineffectively around it'

3) No, you're right. Minimum number of heads sounds good.

 

[Benimoto]

Okay, here's my first attempt at a monster conversion. Here's my personal favorite monster in the mod, the greenspawn razorfiend:

[sblock]
Greenspawn Razorfiend Level 10 Elite Skirmisher
Large natural beast (reptile) XP 1000
Initiative +10 Senses Perception +8; low-light vision
HP 208; Bloodied 104
AC 26; Fortitude 24, Reflex 26, Will 22
Resist 10 poison
Saving Throws +2
Speed 8, swim 8
Action Points: 1
Wingblade (standard; at-will)
+15 vs. AC; 1d12+5 (crit 2d12 + 17); this attack scores a critical hit
on a roll of 19 or 20 (a roll of 19 is not an automatic hit, however).
Leap Attack (standard; at-will)
The greenspawn razorfiend leaps at the target, shifting 6 squares and making two wingblade attacks.
Breath Weapon (minor; recharges when first bloodied) * Poison
Close blast 3; +11 vs. Reflex; 1d8+5 plus 5 ongoing poison damage.
Defensive Hop (immediate reaction, when missed by a melee attack; at-will)
The greenspawn razorfiend shifts 3 squares.
Alignment Evil Languages Draconic
Skills Athletics +16
Str 22 (+11) Dex 17 (+8) Wis 16 (+8)
Con 16 (+8) Int 8 (+4) Cha 10 (+5)

Greenspawn Razorfiend Tactics: The greenspawn razorfiend springs into combat using its leap attack. It then spends an action point to leap towards an unprotected group of enemies, targeting one with leap attack and unleashing its breath weapon on the highest concentration of foes. When possible, it uses its defensive hop to move towards the margins of the combat, targeting weak or unprotected foes with further attacks.
[/sblock]

This is part deathjump spider, part green dragon, built on the rough chassis of the manticore. Hopefully I didn't go overboard in making these things too lethal. I considered an even larger critical threat range, but that seems a little unprecedented in 4e. I ditched the bite in favor of a minor action breath weapon, like the dragonborn have.

 

[Benimoto]

Aaaand, here's my take on the bluespawn stormlizard. Hopefully, this should make their single appearance in the mod memorable.

[sblock]
Bluespawn Stormlizard Level 9 Brute
Large natural beast (reptile) XP 400
Initiative +3 Senses Perception +6; low-light vision
HP 120; Bloodied 60
AC 20; Fortitude 20, Reflex 15, Will 18
Resist 10 lightning, 10 thunder
Speed 7
Gore (standard; at-will) * Thunder
+12 vs. AC; 2d8 + 5 thunder damage or 4d8 + 5 thunder damage on a charge.
Lightning Link (minor; recharge 4 5 6) * Lightning
Close burst 5; targets up to two creatures who are also within 5 of another stormlizard; +10 vs. Reflex; 1d6 + 4 lightning damage. Miss: Half damage.
Ride the Stormlizard (while mounted by a friendly rider of 5th level or higher; at-will) * Mount
The rider gains resist 10 lightning and resist 10 thunder.
Alignment Unaligned Languages --
Str 21 (+9) Dex 9 (+3) Wis 14 (+6)
Con 20 (+9) Int 5 (+1) Cha 8 (+3)

Bluespawn Stormlizard Tactics: Bluespawn stormlizards charge the enemy in pairs or as a pack. They try to stay close enough to other stormlizards that they can use their lightning link whenever possible.
[/sblock]
I ditched the lightning arc to focus on their brutishness, but kept the lightning link, since that ability is seriously evocative. Also, their gore does thunder damage now, since that sounded awesome.

EDIT: Here is also the blood ghost berzerkers, for the same encounter.

[sblock]
Blood Ghost Berserker Level 7 Brute
Medium natural humanoid XP 300
Initiative +3 Senses Perception +6; low-light vision
HP 96; Bloodied 48
AC 19; Fortitude 18, Reflex 16, Will 15
Speed 6
Greataxe (standard; at-will) * Weapon
+10 vs. AC; 1d12 + 7 damage.
Unnerving Howl (minor; encounter) * Fear
+8 vs. Will; All attackers gain combat advantage against the target until the end of the blood ghost berzerker's next turn.
Predatory Eye (minor; encounter)
The blood ghost berserker deals an extra 1d6 damage on the next attack it makes with combat advantage. It must apply this bonus before the end of its next turn.

Alignment Evil Languages Common, Goblin
Str 21 (+9) Dex 17 (+3) Wis 14 (+6)
Con 16 (+9) Int 10 (+1) Cha 10 (+3)

Blood Ghost Berserker Tactics: Blood ghost berserkers charge fearlessly into melee with their greataxes. As the melee is joined, the blood ghosts begin to howl like ferocious spirits, using their unnerving howl attack.
[/sblock]

 

[keterys]

Hmm, shouldn't it do some normal damage in addition to thunder on the gore?

Two of them charging then starting to lightning link should scare the players some, certainly

 

[Benimoto]

Hmm, shouldn't it do some normal damage in addition to thunder on the gore?

Hmm maybe. I suppose it could do 2d8+5 normally, and 2d8+5 plus 2d8 thunder on a charge, and still be stormy enough.

 

[Benimoto]

Here's what I've got so far. I've tooled my conversion to a 4th level party, so it's going to be a touch weaker than what others may have come up with. This covers until the bridge encounter.

Okay, some specific feedback about the monsters you've got here. First, I have a slight preference for using the Monster Manual version of the hell hounds and manticore. As you can see, I think they fit reasonably well into the combats as they are, and it gives the players maybe a better sense of immersion if they can fight the same creature in this module as they do in others.

The Doom Hand cleric looks good, although my outline calls for him to be one level higher. I also feel as though he could use a definitive "leader" feature, even if it's just copying the lead from the front from the hobgoblin leader in the monster manual.

The bladebearer looks great, although again, my own plans call for him to be a level higher.

I like the hydra, though I also like keterys' version later in the thread.

I really like the wolf riders. Since the DMG clarifies that mounted NPCs and their mounts both get full actions in combat, perhaps it could be added that the goblin can use his move action to get the mount to shift, and that goblin tactics applies when either the goblin or the mount is missed by an attack and causes the mount to shift while mounted.

Karkilan is pretty simple, but that's fine. My own outline calls for him to be a level 7 elite, under the "all named monsters are elite" clause. Maybe he could have the Battle Champion or Savage Brute template from the DMg.

Wyrmlord Koth, I worry is a little too much like the PC warlocks. I feel as though maybe he should have some abilities that say "Red Hand of Doom", but I'm not sure what that would be. I'll think about it.

Varinthian looks great! My only concern is that since she's a solo, she might never have combat advantage to use her behir rend attack, unless she gets a rake off on an enemy unable to stand back up. Maybe her bite attack could have a secondary daze effect or something? That might be going over the top.

The ghost kittens look good. I don't have any good ideas for making the one more of a controller. Any sort of area attack, especially if it dazes or immobilizes would seem to qualify. But then again, it looks fine as a brute. I just thought a controller might be nice tactically, and I'm sure the PCs would appreciate the lower hit points on an insubstantial monster. Oh right, and "stunned until the end of the dire ghost lion’s next turn (save ends)" doesn't quite work.

 

[keterys]

For wymrlord Koth, could cheat and use like an oni mage (forgets if there's an ogre mage later on).

I'm still tempted to take some of the higher level mobs and just Elite-ize or Solo-ize them, reducing their level the according amount. It's very frustrating for players to need 18s and 19s to hit, and all that.

 

[Templar3378]

Wow, I go away for a couple of days and come back and my intial thread has grown legs and walked in a direction i didn't anticipate.

Though I heartily approve.

Also, props to Boarstorm for pointing out the whole lack of monsters in the MM for part 3...I'll see what I can come up with to help with the general effort here as well.

For now, Props people and keep up the good work. I'll see what i can come up with to help tomorrow