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Villain Feedback: A Sniper
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<blockquote data-quote="(Psi)SeveredHead" data-source="post: 5851044" data-attributes="member: 1165"><p>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?).</p><p></p><p>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.)</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 12px">Standard Actions</span></strong></p><p><img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/bm.gif" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":bmelee:" title="Basic Melee :bmelee:" data-shortname=":bmelee:" /> <strong>Poisoned Dirk (weapon) * At-Will</strong></p><p>Attack: Melee 1 (one creature); +26 vs. AC</p><p>Hit: 2d6 + 10 damage, and the target is dazed and takes ongoing 20 poison damage (save ends).</p><p>First Failed Save: The ongoing damage increases to 30 ongoing poison damage, and the target is stunned (save ends).</p></blockquote><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>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.)</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>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).</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>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?)</p><p>[/QUOTE]</p>
[QUOTE="(Psi)SeveredHead, post: 5851044, member: 1165"] 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.) 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. 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. [b][size=3]Standard Actions[/size][/b] :bmelee: [b]Poisoned Dirk (weapon) * At-Will[/b] 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. 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. 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). 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?) [/QUOTE]
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