D&D 4E The 4E Rakshasa...a little plain?

[Kinak]

I like the trait idea. That allows me to craft something on a rakshasa by rakshasa basis. The party has already determined that their target is, in fact, a rakshasa in disguise. With the help of some npcs, they have lured him I to a trap and are about to engage him in combat.

The party consists of a warlock, wizard, knight, rogue and that class with spirit companions whose name I can't recall at this second. This rakshasa is a warrior, but the other two are controller and artillery types.

I'd like to give the party options to set up traps and fights that are smart and reward preparation and fun choices.

With your setup, it sounds like the rakshasa would be on the wrong foot and really casting about for options. Illusion-wise, it might do something simple like illusion-up two of their NPC allies to look like it's rakshasa kin "revealing" that they've lead the PCs into a trap.

For mechanical function, maybe it can't be hurt until the illusions have been disbelieved (or it takes bonus damage once they're down). Or maybe, until they're disbelieved, killed, or dispelled the illusions are able to deal actual damage.

If they haven't lead them into the ambush itself yet, you could also make a specific area in town bad for the rakshasas (like a temple that negates one of their powers). So they're guarded about going there, but also can't completely avoid it without blowing their cover.

Cheers!
Kinak

 

[sabrinathecat]

If they don't have it already, give the non-warriors something like "Mirror Image".
Encounter power: Minor, 3 images appear in the same square. +6 to AC & Ref. A miss pops an image, and reduces the bonus by 2. An area effect will blow out all three images at once as well as possibly hitting the actual creature, but it is still an neat trick and potentially impressive.

Maybe suggest some other NPC seems to have a feline fetish, or that something is wrong with his/her hands.

Good luck.

 

[Sage Genesis]

One thing I was expecting but never saw was any sort of vulnerability. This harkened me back to AD&D, when I remember they had a vulnerability to crossbow bolts.

Blessed crossbow bolt, yes. And good news: they still do in 4e. Check the sidebar on page 217 of the MM.

To save everybody time: it helps to remember that 4e uses the statblock purely for combat-purposes. It doesn't fully define what a creature is in the same way 3e did. In 4e, rakshasas reincarnate when they are slain, fully adult and with memories of who killed them. And they're usually pissed about it. But they can be put permanently to death by special blessed weapons. (Which may be a blessed crossbow bolt of course but the sidebar also leaves room for other weapons.)

So yes, there is still a very good reason to get blessed crossbow bolts against rakshasas. But they're a story-vulnerability, not a take-more-damage-in-a-fight-vulnerability. (And people say 4e is bad at story...)

 

[pemerton]

And people say 4e is bad at story...

Not me!

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

Blessed crossbow bolt, yes. And good news: they still do in 4e. Check the sidebar on page 217 of the MM.

To save everybody time: it helps to remember that 4e uses the statblock purely for combat-purposes. It doesn't fully define what a creature is in the same way 3e did. In 4e, rakshasas reincarnate when they are slain, fully adult and with memories of who killed them. And they're usually pissed about it. But they can be put permanently to death by special blessed weapons. (Which may be a blessed crossbow bolt of course but the sidebar also leaves room for other weapons.)

So yes, there is still a very good reason to get blessed crossbow bolts against rakshasas. But they're a story-vulnerability, not a take-more-damage-in-a-fight-vulnerability. (And people say 4e is bad at story...)

Its not, but I think it has become clear to me how many people ONLY want to play exactly by what is written on a page and never go beyond it even one bit. So the sidebar about the Rakshasa is useless to them because they would have to think of a way to work it into their game.

 

[Larrin]

So the sidebar about the Rakshasa is useless to them because they would have to think of a way to work it into their game.

Heck, sidebars in general are getting harder and harder for me to notice in print books, because they look too much like webpage side advertisements. My brain will just filter them out.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

Heck, sidebars in general are getting harder and harder for me to notice in print books, because they look too much like webpage side advertisements. My brain will just filter them out.

ROFL! You've cracked the mystery!

I do really think that this was the heart of the stylistic mismatch between 4e and its detractors. People see a rule and they seem to feel compelled to follow it exactly, to color only within any lines that are on the paper. 4e is a fairly nice picture, but the idea was to go ahead and add your own parts to it, which apparently doesn't sit with a lot of people. AD&D was messy, but less restrictive for a lot of folks I'm guessing.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

As I mentioned before, there don't seem to be good encounters for rakshashas anywhere. Does anyone want to help me build one? Maybe the OP could use it.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

As I mentioned before, there don't seem to be good encounters for rakshashas anywhere. Does anyone want to help me build one? Maybe the OP could use it.

Yeah, I thought there were some clever ideas in this thread. Have you got a specific overall plot in mind? I mean we COULD come up with a stand-alone encounter or two, but I feel like this is one monster that really needs a whole story to drive the encounters.

 

[WizarDru]

Blessed crossbow bolt, yes. And good news: they still do in 4e. Check the sidebar on page 217 of the MM.

To save everybody time: it helps to remember that 4e uses the statblock purely for combat-purposes. It doesn't fully define what a creature is in the same way 3e did. In 4e, rakshasas reincarnate when they are slain, fully adult and with memories of who killed them. And they're usually pissed about it. But they can be put permanently to death by special blessed weapons. (Which may be a blessed crossbow bolt of course but the sidebar also leaves room for other weapons.)

So yes, there is still a very good reason to get blessed crossbow bolts against rakshasas. But they're a story-vulnerability, not a take-more-damage-in-a-fight-vulnerability. (And people say 4e is bad at story...)

I totally missed that sidebar, but that's partly because I was using the statblocks in the module and merely cracked the manual to see if I'd missed something. That's very helpful, thanks. I also didn't realize that theya re effectively immortal unless you do something (again, in over 30 years of gaming, this is probably the second time I've ever used one). That gives me a LOT more to work with, especially coupled with some of the other ideas in this thread.


Essentially, the players have tricked/cornered the warrior Rakshasa in a dungeon (like the cells of an actual manor, not a D&D dungeon). His duplicity has been revealed in a surprising way thanks to the rogue using one of his powers well and combat will begin. While he his a dangerous foe, he is caught on the backfoot and the players will likely take him down relatively easily. The threat of continual return changes the game, so to speak. The other two are more magically inclined and they'll know the players are coming. Whether they fade into the shadows or meet them head on will depend on how well the players deal with the first of the trio. If the players manage to gank all three using their wits and skills: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. If they win by beating the rakshasas heads into their shoulders...that works, too.