Shrieking Terror - CR too low?

[Arbiter of Wyrms]

Excuse me, please, while I go look at this spell again. Sounds like a must-have. Then again, if it's Cleric only, that's bad, because there's only one PC cleric in the whole campaign world, and no abundance of NPC clerics, either.

Thanks everybody.

This valuable advice notwithstanding, though, what about the shrieking terror? I haven't seen anybody say one way or the other if they think the CR is right.

 

[Hypersmurf]

This valuable advice notwithstanding, though, what about the shrieking terror? I haven't seen anybody say one way or the other if they think the CR is right.

Maybe the CR is taking into account the prevalence of Hero's Feast among 13th level parties

-Hyp.

 

[DungeonMaster]

So why didn't you coup-de-grace them all?

CR 13 and DC 34 fort-save for paralysis is completely insane. Not just sorta-insane, but completely insane.
Even just plain fear would be insane. I'm not sure from your description which it was.

 

[Bront]

It's a sonic effect, right? A bard might be able to countersong it. If he thinks to before it shreaks.

I know of 1 character I've seen that could possibly make that save at 13th level, and that was a paladin with a HUGE Charisma, and at least one other save bonus item.

Now, if the DC was only a bonus of 1 per 2 heads, that drops it to a 29, which is a bit more managable.

Also, do all heads have to scream? I wonder if it's only that bad if every head shreaks.

Probably not a good CR13 monster. Not sure if it's even a good CR15 monster, though my guess is that it's a one trick pony. I'll have to look it up sometime.

 

[Arbiter of Wyrms]

So why didn't you coup-de-grace them all?

CR 13 and DC 34 fort-save for paralysis is completely insane. Not just sorta-insane, but completely insane.
Even just plain fear would be insane. I'm not sure from your description which it was.

"paralyzed with fear for 2d4 rounds" is how the entry reads, I believe.

 

[Arbiter of Wyrms]

It's a sonic effect, right? A bard might be able to countersong it. If he thinks to before it shreaks.

I know of 1 character I've seen that could possibly make that save at 13th level, and that was a paladin with a HUGE Charisma, and at least one other save bonus item.

And, of course, the paladin is immune to fear effects.

Also, do all heads have to scream? I wonder if it's only that bad if every head shreaks.

All the heads scream at once as a full round action. No option exists to only have some heads scream.

Probably not a good CR13 monster. Not sure if it's even a good CR15 monster, though my guess is that it's a one trick pony. I'll have to look it up sometime.

Well, it's certainly not the be-all, end-all monster, but for the occasional effort to kill off PCs, it reasonably effective - oh yeah, and they don't have any treasure, so that sort of adds insult to the injuries of any PCs who might survive.

 

[Arbiter of Wyrms]

EXPLETIVE!!!

Heroes' Feast is ridiculous!

Now I understand. This panacea must be why some adventuring parties include a bard or cleric. I'm astonished at how useful this spell is - to the extent that I wonder if it's even balanced. Immune to poison and fear, cured of disease, nausea, and sickness, a bonus to attacks and Will saves, and temporary hit points too! All this for a 6th level spell!

Okay, so now that I understand that every party of 11th level or higher should eat two Heroes' Feasts every day, and should, therefore, always be able to ignore poison, fear, and all but the fastest-acting diseases, I wonder why a monster should ever have a fear effect with a DC high enough that no character of 11th level or lower can hope to beat it.

 

[Jack Simth]

Of course, 6th is also the level where the mass combat buffs start up - Need everyone to have better AC and Reflex? Cat's Grace, Mass. Will saves? Owl's Wisdom, Mass. HP and Fort? Bear's Endurance, Mass. It's also got one of the strongest Damage-Dealing spells around - Disintigrate (2d6/level, but single target). Mass Suggestion is really nifty, especially with the save required for a level-6 spell. Blade Barrier makes for a nice defensive position for a time, Heal gets people fixed up fast, and Mass Cure Moderate Wounds is better the more people you can apply it to. Planar Binding and Planar Ally can get some strong backup.

Sure, Hero's Feast is a rather strong protective agent - at least, against what it protects against - but then, there are also some strong offensive agents out there at the same level it's available. Moreover, it's got a long casting time (10 minutes to cast, 60 more to gain it's benefits), can be interrupted under most circumstances (picture a Sorcerous enemy sending Demons and Devils bound with Planar Binding to the PC's while they are eating - rough them up, possibly catch them off gaurd, AND make them waste a casting of one of their higher level spells; Mage's Magnificient Mansion (7th level spell) but little else can), and is mostly only stopping some save-or-(effectively)die effects that aren't likely to come into play every session. Sure, the +1 Morale bonuses are nice, as are the temporary HP, but not really anything that can't be dealt with by an extra encounter or two.

 

[the Jester]

To preface, I dm far more than I play, and I'm a ruthless bastard dm well known for a fairly lethal game.

Nevertheless, in my experience heroes' feast is cool. I don't think it's overpowered; I think it's a strong 6th-level spell, but you have to line it up against heal, harm, blade barrier, etc. They're definitely of comparable power- I doubt you'll find many 12th level clerics with 2 heroes feasts packed; but prolly most of them will have one.

Heck, my epic party really just started using it recently... I guess the cleric just never clued in to how good of a spell it is.

 

[Arbiter of Wyrms]

Nevertheless, in my experience heroes' feast is cool. I don't think it's overpowered; I think it's a strong 6th-level spell, but you have to line it up against heal, harm, blade barrier, etc. They're definitely of comparable power- I doubt you'll find many 12th level clerics with 2 heroes feasts packed; but prolly most of them will have one.

Fair enough. Your comment, and Jack Smith's before it put some perspective on it. Compared against Heal, or as its sometimes known at our table, "All Better," I suppose that Heroes' Feast isn't broken, but playing for as long as I have and neglecting it all this time indicates that I might very well be broken (in an entirely different sense).