Shouldn't Kaz the Betrayer have more actions?

[SlyFlourish]

I was looking at the latest D&D Insider article on Kaz the Betrayer:

Open Grave Excerpts: Kas the Betrayer

I was surprised to see a solo 26th level vampire with so few actions a round. Yes, he gets two action points, but his only minor attack is the dominate which is very limited (recharge 6).

I always thought it was appropriate for solo mobs to have some sort of counter attack like a fiendish parry or something. As he stands, other than hitpoints, Kaz doesn't really feel like a solo creature. Any thoughts?

 

[Jack99]

He also has the Betrayer's Whirlwind and the Ka's Challenge. Challenge will probably be all but useless for a Solo, but it does seem that something is missing. Perhaps Double Attack and a retributive strike (IR, when hit).

/shrug

Then again, dominate is a very powerful ability, so maybe double strike and an IR would be too much.

 

[questing gm]

Well, he is a vampire and a paladin in one. But I would say that they could have swapped Betrayer's Whirlwind for something more flavorful.

 

[Felon]

It's "Kas the Betrayer". Only his close personal friends get to call him "Kaz the Betrayer".

I figure a solo soldier is a pretty wierd critter as-is, since a soldier's purpose is to protect a bigger gun. I guess he and his flunkies are supposed to be added together to amount to a level 30 encounter.

 

[The_Fan]

In my experience, it's good to have some low level flunkies even with a "solo." They greatly add to the early stages of a solo encounter. Even look at his sample encounter. There's some nice synergy with his knights, as the dragonborn is able to provide bonuses to the lower level undead and give everyone fire swords. Pretty much everyone will be marked, and will be severely punished if they don't focus on their opponent. Overall, a nasty fight.

 

[SlyFlourish]

It bothers me that we have to add a couple of guys to make a "solo" guy more dangerous. I just don't see that much danger from a real solo mob. They're too easy to lock up and don't do enough damage to really challenge a party even when they're one, two, or three levels higher. Sure, add a couple of brutes and they're all a challenge now, but that shouldn't be necessary. Solo mobs should have more actions and have some sort of protection from getting locked up (like an automatic save when hit with a status effect).

 

[Shroomy]

It bothers me that we have to add a couple of guys to make a "solo" guy more dangerous. I just don't see that much danger from a real solo mob. They're too easy to lock up and don't do enough damage to really challenge a party even when they're one, two, or three levels higher. Sure, add a couple of brutes and they're all a challenge now, but that shouldn't be necessary. Solo mobs should have more actions and have some sort of protection from getting locked up (like an automatic save when hit with a status effect).

Kas ultimately has a way around status effects, Kas's Recovery. He also effectively gets additional actions through his dominating gaze power and there's a nice combo with his Kas's Challenge power, so not only do you have to attack your friend with an epic at-will, but you begin to take ongoing 10 necrotic damage for not attacking Kas!

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

I think solos are supposed to have three attacks, and elites two, but I see those rules broken all the time. A lot of templates make monsters into elites, and give them double hit points, but not extra attacks. I don't know why WotC doesn't follow the rules there -- there may be some good reason, but often they don't look like good offensive threats.

(Some, like the death knight, seem to make sense. They do bonus damage, so it's a bit like getting two attacks combined into one attack.)

I don't know if his marking is useful, since the whole party would be attacking him anyway (as he's a solo).

Unless he has those knight minions. Their "heal you on death" looks damn sweet.

 

[SlyFlourish]

(Some, like the death knight, seem to make sense. They do bonus damage, so it's a bit like getting two attacks combined into one attack.)

Yeah, auras are actually a good way to get around being stun-locked or weakened - they take the damage anyway. I think more solos should have aureas or effects when struck.

 

[Zaukrie]

To me the issue isn't danger, it is fun. If you are going against a solo with 1 action a round, you get 1 attack from it then 5 PC actions, then one attack from it....blah, blah, blah, boringiness. Solos and Elites should have more immediate and interrupt actions.