Running a Lurker in combat

[NewJeffCT]

This will be my first time running a lurker against the party coming up tonight... the party will likely have hit level 3 upon arrival.

The lurker can both fly & turn invisible, so my plan was to have it attack with its minor at-will action, turn invisible as its standard action and then move while invisible. And, then keep repeating as long as possible as its minor at-will action is a ranged attack.

Obviously, after it turns invisible, the players will hold their actions and wait for it to appear before striking again with readied attacks. How does the lurker avoid getting slammed with 6 attacks at once from the readied actions? Should the PCs have to make perception checks to spot the lurker in its new location before striking?

My thought for round 2 or 3 would be for the lurker to appear behind one PC and use it as cover, as the players will ready ranged attacks.

Any other ideas/suggestions?

Thanks

 

[AntiStateQuixote]

How does the lurker avoid getting slammed with 6 attacks at once from the readied actions?

Attack from beyond charge range; that avoids the melee guys. Attack from a place with full cover and/or concealment from some or all of the party.

Should the PCs have to make perception checks to spot the lurker in its new location before striking?

By the rules, I don't think so, but if the critter is an obvious "hidey" guy then I might do it.

My thought for round 2 or 3 would be for the lurker to appear behind one PC and use it as cover, as the players will ready ranged attacks.

The monster cannot get cover from the PCs; allies provide cover, not enemies.

Any other ideas/suggestions?

I'd consider carefully how much fun this encounter will be. As a DM I use lurkers sparingly, especially if they have invisibility or other "you can't attack me" powers. They're ok as a challenge/change of pace every once in a while, but they're very frustrating in large doses. Black dragons are the epitome of suck as far as lurkers go.

 

[NewJeffCT]

Attack from beyond charge range; that avoids the melee guys. Attack from a place with full cover and/or concealment from some or all of the party.
By the rules, I don't think so, but if the critter is an obvious "hidey" guy then I might do it.
The monster cannot get cover from the PCs; allies provide cover, not enemies.
I'd consider carefully how much fun this encounter will be. As a DM I use lurkers sparingly, especially if they have invisibility or other "you can't attack me" powers. They're ok as a challenge/change of pace every once in a while, but they're very frustrating in large doses. Black dragons are the epitome of suck as far as lurkers go.

I agree that it could suck - however, the party has three PCs that can do ranged magical attacks (bard, shaman & wizard), as well as an elf ranger who specializes in archery. The human fighter & eladrin rogue would need to pull out their ranged weapons.

Good point on the PC not giving cover to the lurker.

 

[Herschel]

Lurkers can be a blast. In an adventure I ran with orcs and an imp, the imp would come out of invisibility to attack, then turn again and move. He would only get an attack every-other round but I used him to build paranoia and anticipatory "dread" rather than expect him to do a lot of damage.

In another encounter, a Tiefling lurker was the biggest damage dealer, so I only had him delay a single round while the party engaged with the blockers and chased the artillery.

Either way works, depending on the critter and the role they play in that battle.

 

[Festivus]

Just be careful to not drag out the combat (read: suck the fun out of it). This gives the ranged attackers a chance to be the heroes of the party.

If the entire party readied actions, I would have the lurker appear out of range for melee as suggested, or make it painful for them to get there (e.g. you could have the lurker appear just beyond a trap... so when the fighter's readied charge comes... whammo). Really depends on the encounter a bit I guess, but I have done mean things like that in the past.

 

[NewJeffCT]

Just be careful to not drag out the combat (read: suck the fun out of it). This gives the ranged attackers a chance to be the heroes of the party.

If the entire party readied actions, I would have the lurker appear out of range for melee as suggested, or make it painful for them to get there (e.g. you could have the lurker appear just beyond a trap... so when the fighter's readied charge comes... whammo). Really depends on the encounter a bit I guess, but I have done mean things like that in the past.

The funny thing with our group is that the guy playing the archer has been devastating in combat - we make our combat rolls on the table and it seems like almost all of his rolls to hit are in the 15-20 range. The player is a teenager who is playing with his father, who is almost the opposite in combat - he is the human fighter and melee expert, and rarely rolls above a 10 to hit, and we have a running joke about how often he ends up prone in combat.

 

[Starfox]

The rules for using Stealth in combat are actually quite clear - look them up, they work great. Basically, as a part of movement the lurker (PC or NPC) rolls Steath against everyone's passive Perception. It needs full concealment or heavy cover to do this unless it has a special power. As a minor action on their turn potential observers can roll Perception against the lurker's last Stealth result to see trough the concealment (I house ruled this to "passive" Stealth at 10+ Stealth skill instead). Alternatively, they can try to act in a way that denies the lurker cover or concealment (this need not be full/total) and see them this way.

The problem lurkers have in my experience is that they get tied down. Unless they end each round in hiding, they are excellent targets for immobilize/pull powers.

In short, if your players lack Perception/control lurkers can shine, otherwise they are merely soft skirmishers. Their worst enemy is a good Defender.