Villain Feedback: A Sniper

[MortalPlague]

My players will soon be attacking Dolendarra, the spymistress of an organization called the Tiger Cult. They have already dispatched the enforcer lieutenant, who was a vicious combatant and engaged them in a pitched, bloody battle. And now they turn their eyes to the spymistress.

Dolendarra, however, is a far more subtle and cowardly combatant. Her strategy is to hide in a tower at the far end of a narrow stonework canyon, rigged with all manner of traps and guardians. The PCs will have to contend with her range 40, allowing her to attack them and slide them into traps. I'm going to pair her with two types of creatures; water elementals (who slide people like crazy) and ghouls (who grab and knock prone). Once they reach her, however, she is not even an elite combatant; with three seriously dangerous strikers, I'm sure they'll be able to burn her down in one round.

I would love some feedback on the design of this monster. She's meant to be a named villain in the campaign, so she leans to the more potent side of the equation. To differentiate her from her more combat-capable sisters, I really would prefer not to make her an elite. She'll be hiding behind superior cover until they get up into melee with her, so she's fairly well protected from ranged attacks.



Dolendarra Eilserys -- Level 21 Artillery
Medium natural humanoid (drow) -- XP 8300
HP 195 BL 97 -- Initiative +25
AC 35 F 32 R 36 W 33 -- Perception +22
Speed 7 -- Darkvision

Traits
Deadly Aim
Dolendarra does an extra 2d8 damage to targets granting combat advantage.

Standard Actions
Poisoned Dirk (weapon) * At-Will
Attack: Melee 1 (one creature); +26 vs. AC
Hit: 2d6 + 10 damage, and the target is dazed and takes ongoing 20 poison damage (save ends).
First Failed Save: The ongoing damage increases to 30 ongoing poison damage, and the target is stunned (save ends).

Crossbow Dance (weapon) * At-Will
Attack: Ranged 40 (one creature); +28 vs. AC
Hit: 4d6 + 15 damage, and Dolendarra may slide the target 3 squares.

Quick Shot * At-Will
Dolendarra uses Crossbow Dance twice.

A Shot Meant To Kill (weapon) * Recharge [5], [6]
Attack: Ranged 40 (one creature); +26 vs. Reflex
Hit: 8d6 + 20 damage, and ongoing 20 damage (save ends).

Minor Actions
Darkfire * Recharge [5], [6]
Attack: Ranged 20 (one creature); +26 vs. Reflex
Hit: The target grants combat advantage and cannot benefit from invisibility or concealment until the end of Dolendarra’s next turn.

Cloud of Darkness (zone) * Encounter
Effect: Close burst 1. The burst creates a zone that lasts until the end of the encounter. The cloud blocks line of sight for all creatures except Dolendarra. While entirely in the cloud, any creature other than Dolendarra is blinded. Dolendarra can dismiss the zone as a free action.

 

[Arctic Wolf]

Do the traps make the PCs present combat advantage? It would seem weird that she can only gain it at 20 ft when her range is 40. Aside from that, everything looks good.

 

[Quickleaf]

Looks good, though I assume she has some kind of special Stealth ability like a cunning sneak rogue would, in order to gain combat advantage?

About the scenario...

Dont any of your high-level strikers have abilities or items which let them ignore superior cover at least momentarily?

What if the party doesn't play her game and tries to fight her in a different location? I mean your setup where there's only one approach down a trapped narrow canyon and she's ready and waiting with a crossbow at a tower arrow slot is pretty damn stacked in her favor. If I knew all that I'd certainly seek to catch up with her somewhere else!

 

[MortalPlague]

Do the traps make the PCs present combat advantage? It would seem weird that she can only gain it at 20 ft when her range is 40. Aside from that, everything looks good.

The usual range on Darkfire is only 10, so I felt extending it to 20 was enough of a cheat. Besides, some of the traps will daze and grant combat advantage, so she'll be able to do more damage throughout.

Dont any of your high-level strikers have abilities or items which let them ignore superior cover at least momentarily?

No, not currently. My ranger used to, but he swapped it for an ability to ignore regular cover all the time.

What if the party doesn't play her game and tries to fight her in a different location? I mean your setup where there's only one approach down a trapped narrow canyon and she's ready and waiting with a crossbow at a tower arrow slot is pretty damn stacked in her favor. If I knew all that I'd certainly seek to catch up with her somewhere else!

If the party doesn't want to play her game, that's great. I'm trying to run this in a sort of sandbox style; if they play into Dolendarra's trap, they'll encounter her here. If not, they'll probably encounter her somewhere else. If they're particularly clever, they can lure her into a trap, and jump her.

 

[Quickleaf]

If the party doesn't want to play her game, that's great. I'm trying to run this in a sort of sandbox style; if they play into Dolendarra's trap, they'll encounter her here. If not, they'll probably encounter her somewhere else. If they're particularly clever, they can lure her into a trap, and jump her.

I'm curious why don't you want her to be an elite? The stats you have now are fine, I just usually associate named NPCs with elite is all.

 

[MortalPlague]

I'm curious why don't you want her to be an elite? The stats you have now are fine, I just usually associate named NPCs with elite is all.

My retinue of villains looks like this.

Farina, the BBEG is a 23 elite skirmisher.
Pyra, the now-deceased enforcer was a 22 elite soldier
Melaine, the mage is a 22 elite controller
Dolendarra, the spymaster is a 21 artillery (with slightly buffed hp)

In the campaign planning, I really wanted to differentiate the experience of tracking down the villains. For Pyra, she was easy to find because she was loud, brash, and highly visible. Melaine is clever; she'll try to ambush the PCs, and will certainly bargain with the PCs if the chips are down. She'll even sell the others out. Dolendarra, the challenge is to find her and get to her. Once they have her cornered, I wanted for her not to be very formidable. That way chasing her down feels very different than any of the other lieutenants.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

My players will soon be attacking Dolendarra, the spymistress of an organization called the Tiger Cult. They have already dispatched the enforcer lieutenant, who was a vicious combatant and engaged them in a pitched, bloody battle. And now they turn their eyes to the spymistress.

Dolendarra, however, is a far more subtle and cowardly combatant. Her strategy is to hide in a tower at the far end of a narrow stonework canyon, rigged with all manner of traps and guardians. The PCs will have to contend with her range 40, allowing her to attack them and slide them into traps. I'm going to pair her with two types of creatures; water elementals (who slide people like crazy) and ghouls (who grab and knock prone). Once they reach her, however, she is not even an elite combatant; with three seriously dangerous strikers, I'm sure they'll be able to burn her down in one round.

She's a boss, even if she's not an elite. What is the XP budget for this encounter (and what PCs do you have?).

Because she's focused on ranged attacks and needs combat advantage, perhaps ghouls are not a good idea. (Everyone will be at +2 defense against her.)

I would love some feedback on the design of this monster. She's meant to be a named villain in the campaign, so she leans to the more potent side of the equation. To differentiate her from her more combat-capable sisters, I really would prefer not to make her an elite. She'll be hiding behind superior cover until they get up into melee with her, so she's fairly well protected from ranged attacks.

Dolendarra Eilserys -- Level 21 Artillery
Medium natural humanoid (drow) -- XP 8300
HP 195 BL 97 -- Initiative +25
AC 35 F 32 R 36 W 33 -- Perception +22

Her AC is pretty high for an artillery of her level. I like that you gave her Perception as a class skill... I think. I don't actually see her ability scores or, more importantly, skills.

Speed 7 -- Darkvision

Traits
Deadly Aim
Dolendarra does an extra 2d8 damage to targets granting combat advantage.

I would recommend giving her the First Strike trait (copy the equivalent rogue ability). That would let her gain a free CA (if she gets Stealth) and, of course, beefs her rep of being a "one shot one kill" sniper, even if she won't actually be able to down PCs with a single shot.

Standard Actions
Poisoned Dirk (weapon) * At-Will
Attack: Melee 1 (one creature); +26 vs. AC
Hit: 2d6 + 10 damage, and the target is dazed and takes ongoing 20 poison damage (save ends).
First Failed Save: The ongoing damage increases to 30 ongoing poison damage, and the target is stunned (save ends).[/quote]

Ow. That's actually pretty high damage for such a nasty effect (daze) coming from a melee attack inflicted by artillery. It's looking more impressive than her ranged attacks, to be honest.

Crossbow Dance (weapon) * At-Will
Attack: Ranged 40 (one creature); +28 vs. AC
Hit: 4d6 + 15 damage, and Dolendarra may slide the target 3 squares.

Quick Shot * At-Will
Dolendarra uses Crossbow Dance twice.

She's doing elite level damage here. IMO, artillery should deal +25% bonus damage (something like Hunter's Quarry to give a bonus of that size), and her Combat Advantage is giving her a bonus like that, but she's doing an average of 58 damage a turn, which is precisely double the damage she should be doing at 21st-level according to the math. (I've never played epic, so I don't know how good the math works at that level.)

Her melee attack looks scarier. Perhaps you could mix things up a bit. You could give her two ranged attacks (one being Crossbow Dance and one being something else, which targets a defense other than AC) and she could have a "double attack" that lets her use any of those two ranged attacks. That would give her more flexibility.

A Shot Meant To Kill (weapon) * Recharge [5], [6]
Attack: Ranged 40 (one creature); +26 vs. Reflex
Hit: 8d6 + 20 damage, and ongoing 20 damage (save ends).

This is only 10 damage more than Quick Shot, and doesn't have a slide rider, so Quick Shot might often be the better option (due to being able to slide opponents into hazards).

Minor Actions
Darkfire * Recharge [5], [6]
Attack: Ranged 20 (one creature); +26 vs. Reflex
Hit: The target grants combat advantage and cannot benefit from invisibility or concealment until the end of Dolendarra’s next turn.

Cloud of Darkness (zone) * Encounter
Effect: Close burst 1. The burst creates a zone that lasts until the end of the encounter. The cloud blocks line of sight for all creatures except Dolendarra. While entirely in the cloud, any creature other than Dolendarra is blinded. Dolendarra can dismiss the zone as a free action.

As an epic opponent, she should have three limited attacks. I suppose Combat Advantage could count as one. I wouldn't count the drow abilities though, as racial abilities don't seem to take up "slots". She's still missing a third power.

IMO, she needs a "clinch" power to make things harder when opponents get into melee with her. Perhaps something that pushes opponents away, which could be a big deal if she's standing on a high spot.

Another note, the PCs will likely focus very hard on her, and not necessarily with damage. They could just stun or dominate her. At epic levels, monsters need the ability to avoid this kind of thing. Are all her friends drow? Couldn't she have a drow cleric with something like Sacred Flame (but evil) backing her up? (Just for the at-will saving throws?)

 

[MortalPlague]

She's a boss, even if she's not an elite. What is the XP budget for this encounter (and what PCs do you have?).

My PCs are:
Narissys, Eladrin Fighter (Tempest Fighter, AC 37)
Jaskiran, Human Rogue (Artful Dodger)
Brandon von Redding, Human Ranger (Archer Ranger)
Virgo Blaze, Human Sorcerer (Storm Sorcerer)
William Straum, Human Cleric (Melee Cleric)

Because she's focused on ranged attacks and needs combat advantage, perhaps ghouls are not a good idea. (Everyone will be at +2 defense against her.)

That's a good point. I might use the ghouls who immobilize instead, if I end up using them.

Her AC is pretty high for an artillery of her level. I like that you gave her Perception as a class skill... I think. I don't actually see her ability scores or, more importantly, skills.

Yeah, I have her AC up a bit since she's a named villain. I don't want her going down in a couple of lucky shots unless they're really good shots. My players routinely have no trouble with AC 32 (last session they hit it on a 4), so I figure AC 40 (after superior cover) will make her hard enough to hit until they reach her in melee.

I didn't copy her skills from the stat block, but yes, she's trained in perception. Also stealth, at +24. I haven't noted any other trained skills.

I would recommend giving her the First Strike trait (copy the equivalent rogue ability). That would let her gain a free CA (if she gets Stealth) and, of course, beefs her rep of being a "one shot one kill" sniper, even if she won't actually be able to down PCs with a single shot.

That's a good point.

Ow. That's actually pretty high damage for such a nasty effect (daze) coming from a melee attack inflicted by artillery. It's looking more impressive than her ranged attacks, to be honest.

If she gets into melee, she's done for in one round. Maybe two. I wanted to give her something potent, which I'll explain away as a deadly poison on her knife, so that she can possibly survive for another round or make a getaway. But if she's using this attack, she's doomed.

She's doing elite level damage here. IMO, artillery should deal +25% bonus damage (something like Hunter's Quarry to give a bonus of that size), and her Combat Advantage is giving her a bonus like that, but she's doing an average of 58 damage a turn, which is precisely double the damage she should be doing at 21st-level according to the math. (I've never played epic, so I don't know how good the math works at that level.)

I have tweaked the damage up a little bit. I might drop a d6 off her attack, bringing things more in line with normal damage. But I want her to be suitably deadly.

Her melee attack looks scarier. Perhaps you could mix things up a bit. You could give her two ranged attacks (one being Crossbow Dance and one being something else, which targets a defense other than AC) and she could have a "double attack" that lets her use any of those two ranged attacks. That would give her more flexibility.

That's a good thought... perhaps something that slows?

This is only 10 damage more than Quick Shot, and doesn't have a slide rider, so Quick Shot might often be the better option (due to being able to slide opponents into hazards).

Good point. If I drop the damage from Crossbow Dance down by a d6, I think this would become the clear big damage power.

As an epic opponent, she should have three limited attacks. I suppose Combat Advantage could count as one. I wouldn't count the drow abilities though, as racial abilities don't seem to take up "slots". She's still missing a third power.

A third minor action power? Maybe a short-range teleport encounter power?

IMO, she needs a "clinch" power to make things harder when opponents get into melee with her. Perhaps something that pushes opponents away, which could be a big deal if she's standing on a high spot.

Something to think about, certainly. If I do give her something like this, I'll probably lower the damage on her melee attack.

Another note, the PCs will likely focus very hard on her, and not necessarily with damage. They could just stun or dominate her. At epic levels, monsters need the ability to avoid this kind of thing. Are all her friends drow? Couldn't she have a drow cleric with something like Sacred Flame (but evil) backing her up? (Just for the at-will saving throws?)

Most of the party has a lot of 'daze', 'slow', and 'immobilize' effects; no stun or dominate, thank goodness. I tend to use those powers sparingly myself, in any case. This particular drow is the last survivor of her shattered house who fled to the surface and joined with the Tiger Cult because she needed allies. She doesn't have any drow friends, but I might put in an 'agent' or two at her side, who might just happen to have 'sacred flame' or something of the like.

Thanks for the suggestions.