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<blockquote data-quote="Monty" data-source="post: 1112346" data-attributes="member: 13958">I know that this opinion is unsolicited and I'm not trying to change this thread into a &quot;How to be a Better DM&quot; discussion. But Lord Pendragon's comment makes me want to add something that I thought when I read this post originally.I rarely min/max my villains. First, I don't want to spend the time it takes to put one together (even for a recurring baddie). Second, I don't think it's fair to the PCs to face a foe tailor-made to fight them.This villain feels like it was designed specifically to exploit the weaknesses of the PCs, not designed with goals of its own. All of the spells and skills are 100% chosen fight and harry the party. No dispel magic or invisibility or glitterdust or even basic divinations. Monster summoning iii feels like its there because you knew the players were 4th-level, not because this NPC likes to summon monsters. If the players were 8th-level, like the NPC, you probably would have changed that spell. Player characters grow organically - they don't just spring into being at 8th level. If you decide to min/max a villain, then at least build him the way a player would - concentrating on making the villain viable at earlier levels as well the level you created him. Otherwise the NPC will actually be tougher than his CR indicates. This might mean a wasted feat or some odd skill selections, but you'll sleep better at night.Good luck and let us know how the party fares against him.Regards,Monty</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Monty, post: 1112346, member: 13958"] I know that this opinion is unsolicited and I'm not trying to change this thread into a "How to be a Better DM" discussion. But [b]Lord Pendragon's[/b] comment makes me want to add something that I thought when I read this post originally. I rarely min/max my villains. First, I don't want to spend the time it takes to put one together (even for a recurring baddie). Second, I don't think it's fair to the PCs to face a foe tailor-made to fight them. This villain feels like it was designed specifically to exploit the weaknesses of the PCs, not designed with goals of its own. All of the spells and skills are 100% chosen fight and harry the party. No [i]dispel magic[/i] or [i]invisibility[/i] or [i]glitterdust[/i] or even basic divinations. [i]Monster summoning iii[/i] feels like its there because you knew the players were 4th-level, not because this NPC [b]likes[/b] to summon monsters. If the players were 8th-level, like the NPC, you probably would have changed that spell. Player characters grow organically - they don't just spring into being at 8th level. If you decide to min/max a villain, then at least build him the way a player would - concentrating on making the villain viable at earlier levels as well the level you created him. Otherwise the NPC will actually be tougher than his CR indicates. This might mean a wasted feat or some odd skill selections, but you'll sleep better at night. Good luck and let us know how the party fares against him. Regards, Monty [/QUOTE]

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