D&D 5E Vs Vecna battle simulations.

[DND_Reborn]

Why the readied action rather than moving and then casting? I feel like I missed something there.

Can't be counterspelled this way. If I am in range to disintegrate (60 ft), I am in range of counterspell. Knowing Vecna is a lich, I would expect counterspelling. (Not even knowing about the Dread Counterspell... which my character would not know about).

 

[MarkB]

Can't be counterspelled this way.

Ooh, clever. I'll have to remember that one.

 

[DND_Reborn]

Ooh, clever. I'll have to remember that one.

Yes. Using LoS is a very important thing when dealing with spellcasters IME. It is one of the tricks I teach new players when using minis / battlemaps (as frustrating as that becomes sometimes when I DM LOL!).

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Yeah, that oughta work. Only cost you your reaction. Of course, Vecna will save, but it might take one of his very valuable LRs.

 

[DND_Reborn]

Yeah, that oughta work. Only cost you your reaction. Of course, Vecna will save, but it might take one of his very valuable LRs.

Exactly. And since there is no point in getting into a counterspell war with a lich, I have better uses for my spell slots. Of course, I am not looking forward to playing out my plan later on, but I fear I won't have a choice. We'll see.

 

[dave2008]

..., and I feel like some of the others just threw together a PC without giving things a lot of thought.

Isn't that how most players make their characters? I personally find it out this is "test" is allowing customized characters and not pregens as you know what you're getting into. But it is not my test.

I would have also limited it to less characters and/or lower level characters (Vecna is not a solo lvl 20 party threat by the numbers)

 

[MarkB]

I would have also limited it to less characters and/or lower level characters (Vecna is not a solo lvl 20 party threat by the numbers)

The idea is to run the encounter a few times over with successively lower level parties. This first one can be considered a calibration pass.

 

[dave2008]

The idea is to run the encounter a few times over with successively lower level parties. This first one can be considered a calibration pass.

I did read that and completely forgot!

 

[FitzTheRuke]

DND_Reborn said:..., and I feel like some of the others just threw together a PC without giving things a lot of thought.

Depends on what you mean by "thought", too! I probably gave more thought than I needed to on who Malek is as a person, for example. I didn't give much thought at all as to how he'd go about fighting Vecna. I assume that in a real-world scenario I wouldn't have known that I'd ever fight Vecna when I first made the character.

I DID spend some time thinking about why I'd pick the feats and subclass that I did, but not in a particularly "optimal" way. (I've never been good at optimizing, it's just not what I play for). I picked more for identity (with a mind to who he is and why he does what he does). That's how I make characters, and how my whole IRL group does. Sure, we try not to make characters that work out to be "bad", but we don't worry too much about synergy.

 

[DND_Reborn]

Isn't that how most players make their characters?

Perhaps in the world of "casual" players, it might be, but not IME. Especially for play-testing a creature, I want a character who represents what I would have actually made/played through the levels.

(Vecna is not a solo lvl 20 party threat by the numbers)

A challenge rating 26 is a Deadly encounter for a party of four 20th-level PCs. That is a solo threat IMO anyway...

Level 20 Deadly XP Threshold is 12,700 XP
Times four PCs is 50,800 XP
A single monster is a X1 multiplier (at CR 26 Vecna is worth 90,000 XP).
Since 90,000 is definitely greater than 50,800, it is a deadly encounter.

I assume that in a real-world scenario I wouldn't have known that I'd ever fight Vecna when I first made the character.

Oh, I definitely agree! I made my wizard based on the idea (as a Diviner) that his power lies in manipulating die rolls, so I took the Lucky feat to go along with Portent. Since I have no DEX, going early meant I needed Alert to give me a chance without having to rely on Portent (which is very limited at 3 times) all the time.

If you look at my spell list, much of it will have little to no impact directly (or at least not until the long run -- maybe?).

My comment was about the incompleteness I see, such as Arthur not having skill proficiencies chosen. While that might seem like a minor thing, skills like Athletics is vital for grapples and such.

FWIW, I really enjoyed your role-playing when Malek hit!