Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Enchanted Trinkets Complete--a hardcover book containing over 500 magic items for your D&D games!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Rystil Arden" data-source="post: 3688010" data-attributes="member: 29014">The right NPC group--a Fang Dragon (known as 'The Blade Dragon'), an albino Jade Phoenix Mage (known as 'The White Raven') and her disciples, a large group of 5th-level mook Warblades.  This setup consistently destroyed a group of fairly maximised appropriate-leveled PCs in multiple playtests.  The idea is that whenever any Warblade acts, it lets WR also act, and she uses a 15d6 Empowered Fireball (or a 15d6 Fire-subbed Cone of Cold if the enemies are in range for that and she's in the Phoenix Stance) or an 18d6 in 3 supplements Empowered Scorching Ray.  There are, if I recall, around 8 of the minions, which is just about the right amount that she'll drain herself of her top spells and maybe have to consider using a regular 10d6 Fireball later on, though most of her 3rd-level slots are Dispel Magics to deal with any magical protections the group might have against fire, which she can see with her Permanent Arcane Sight--she's got plenty of actions to remove said protections.  The Fang Dragon has already been protected against Fire, so it has no fear about wading into melee.  WR will save her Swift action until her first action after the dragon already acted, and she'll use that one to use a WRT of her own on the Dragon.  She can do this because she spent a feat to add in WRT (she has the right initiator level, but she can't add WR manoeuvres with JPM levels).  Ideally, this means the Dragon will be guaranteed to be in a spot for a full attack on the second full-round action, and as you may know, Fang Dragons have a particularly deadly Full Attack.  I could have made it a   Red Dragon to stay on the fire theme, but that seemed putting too many eggs in one basket.  Speaking of which, she can of course have several non-fire spells up her sleeve just in case, but she won't need them unless the PCs are somehow immune in a way that can't be Dispelled.On average, she can dish out 45d6 Area Damage and 90d6 single-target damage on the first round, plus the Dragons two full-round actions and whatever else the Warblades do.  If she manages to win Initiative, she will do a bit more.  It may also be worth it to invest in a staff for her, though I didn't find it necessary.  Her caster level with fire spells is 15, so she could profitably use a Delayed Blast Fireball staff.  The staff could also hold non-fire spells if the party is particularly fire-protected.  The EL guidelines claim that the 8 Warblades (EL 11) plus the JPM (EL 12) plus the Dragon (also 11 or 12, I can't remember) are about an EL 15 encounter.  This encounter can destroy parties of very high levels.</blockquote>

Verification