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<blockquote data-quote="The Shaman" data-source="post: 2969348" data-attributes="member: 26473">It's the mooks that make the encounter memorable, not the cone of cold, Hussar - that's what you and others seem to be missing. It's the heretofore faithful servant who turns on you at the worst possible moment thanks to that charm person, or the guards who fall victim to sleep allowing the hobgoblins to gain access to the town gate, or the wazir who's promises of gold and jewels lead them into a trap thanks to polymorph self.That's what makes the ogre mage a fun boss monster (or used to, at least, before 3e changed nerfed the ogre mage's spell-like abilities).There's something else that I'm noticing here: there seems to an assumption that every monster should be designed to fight to the death. Why is that? The ogre mage is an intelligent opponent - if it knows that it's facing adversaries more powerful that itself, might it negotiate instead? Or even throw itself at the mercy of the adventurers? With its ability to gather extensive intelligence on the party in advance of the &quot;big boss encounter,&quot; it could develop some powerful bargaining chips for the final confrontation - or simply take advantage of the merciful nature of the cleric of Pelor in the party, begging forgiveness for its foul deeds?</blockquote>

[QUOTE="The Shaman, post: 2969348, member: 26473"] It's the mooks that make the encounter memorable, not the [i]cone of cold[/i], [b]Hussar[/b] - that's what you and others seem to be missing. It's the heretofore faithful servant who turns on you at the worst possible moment thanks to that [i]charm person[/i], or the guards who fall victim to [i]sleep[/i] allowing the hobgoblins to gain access to the town gate, or the wazir who's promises of gold and jewels lead them into a trap thanks to [i]polymorph self[/i]. That's what makes the ogre mage a fun boss monster (or used to, at least, before 3e changed nerfed the ogre mage's spell-like abilities). There's something else that I'm noticing here: there seems to an assumption that [u]every[/u] monster should be designed to fight to the death. Why is that? The ogre mage is an intelligent opponent - if it knows that it's facing adversaries more powerful that itself, might it negotiate instead? Or even throw itself at the mercy of the adventurers? With its ability to gather extensive intelligence on the party in advance of the "big boss encounter," it could develop some powerful bargaining chips for the final confrontation - or simply take advantage of the merciful nature of the cleric of Pelor in the party, begging forgiveness for its foul deeds? [/QUOTE]

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