Zombie Hulk Solo Lvl 6

[Coldaan]

Hi Guys!

So i tried to create a memorable solo monster, namely a zombie hulk solo brute who should be lvl 6. What i did was decrease the level of the zombie hulk from the MM by 2 (adjusting defenses & damage accordingly) and then i turned it into a solo according to DMG 185.

this is what i get:
ac 20, fort 23, ref 15, will 18
hp 264 / 132

i hope i did everything right.^^

now the problem i have is first of all should i turn the "zombie smash" ability (which is recharge 6 normally) into an at-will power? it is stated in the DMG that you should turn an encounter power into an at-will when turning a monster into a solo, but the zombie hulk has no encounter power except for the "rise again" power (and NO, i WON'T !! ;-) )

if i really make the "zombie smash" an at-will ability, will the encounter simply be too heavy for a 5-man party of about lvl 4 to 5 ?
because, this guy really has lots of hp AND his "rise again" (so actually he has effectively 396 hp) and his "slam" and "zombie smash" really dish out a lot of damage (max for zombie smash is 36 dmg).

group consists of tiefling warlock, dragonborn fighter, human paladin, half-elf warlord and halfling wizard.

PS:: i'm also considering creating an environment for this encounter that will help the PCs, but it shouldn't turn the fight into an easy-going encounter. so no balcony for the PCs, and still enough room for the monster to move. any ideas? it should be indoor.

-coldaan

 

[Dalzig]

I don't really have an ideas about the monster itself, but the environment I can help with.

Seeing as it's a large creature with a speed of 4, put it in a confined open space. Something like a large hall with 5ft pillars every 10ft. This will give your players plenty of opportunity to maneuver and slows down the zombie.

 

[Tervin]

My gut says that a zombie hulk doesn't really fit as a solo monster, unless you give it a cool template or two. The reason is that a solo monster needs to have many different abilities or be able to do things to a whole party at once, or both. Otherwise the fight is too likely to end up boring.

Savage Berserker is a good fit for a template. If you first make the hulk into an elite and then slap a template onto it by using those rules, I think the resulting solo will be more fun - and you won't have to worry about what to make at-will.

 

[Coldaan]

jep, thanks for the ideas!

but still, how do i deal with a "recharge 6" ability if i turn the monster into an elite? is it enough to give it an additional "recharge wehen first bloodied" like i would do with an encounter power?

anyway, the environment is set (large hall with columns) and i'll turn it into an elite and then into a savage berserker, because it really is the only template that fits really well, thanks!

 

[szilard]

Honestly, this seems like a bad idea... about 400 hp at 3rd level? This fight will take forever.

Some suggestions:

Rise again - this is a big problem, since it doesn't scale evenly with a solo creature. I'd advise not giving it full hp when it rises. Maybe the equivalent of a healing surge?

Zombie Smash - you could have it recharge or .

You might want to give it some sort of immediate reaction - possibly a squirt of necrotic fluids that is released when it receives a critical hit?

-Stuart

 

[Tervin]

You might want to give it some sort of immediate reaction - possibly a squirt of necrotic fluids that is released when it receives a critical hit?

-Stuart

One of the reasons why I suggested the Savage Berserker template is that it comes with a nice little immediate reaction.

 

[Klaumbaz]

i just used the full level 8 brute against 4 level 2's (rogue, cleric, wizard, warlock) as a milestone after a shitload of minion zombies.

Minions went down FAST but ate a few dailies, hulk was in a tower and didn't appear untill the PC's went inside.

Hulk tore up the party, downing 2 of them (rogue, and warlock) before falling down the 2nd time. His reach 2 was mean enough but he hits like a mack truck. No need to make him any nastier.

 

[Foxen]

My MM zombie hulk went down fast against a party of 5 1st levels (believe it or not). It didn't hurt that one was a cleric and another was a pally... and I rolled 3 1's in a row when it attacked. I ended up cheating and giving it the full 88 hp after it rose, and allowed it to make zombie smash at-will (and again, the 3 1's didn't help). What "was" suppose to be the big baddie monster resulted in a rather quick party victory.

However....the Wight they faced earlier in the evening (a singular wight!) was for some reason, the bane of the party!

Fox

 

[Coldaan]

ok, so i turned into an elite and then applied the "savage berserker" template, and it really seems to me that now the encounter will be really interesting while staying fair (kinda^^).

Zombie Hulk Lvl 6 (Solo Brute Savage Berserker)
HP 250/125
AC 20 Fort 27
Ref 15 Will 18
action points: 1
saving throws: +4
regeneration 5

slam(standard, at will)
reach 2, 2d8+4 dmg
zombie smash (standard, recharge 4-6 and when first bloodied)
reach 2, 4d8+4 dmg & prone
murderous frenzy
gain 1 action point when zombie hulk reduces enemy to 0 HP
savage rebuke (immediate reaction when hit by melee attack, at will)
make a melee basic attack (=slam)
rise again (first time zombie hulk is reduced to 0 HP)
roll a new initiative; on the next turn, the zombie hulk rises again with 125HP (bloodied value)

ok, that's it! ;-)
the "fighting zone" will be a large hall with lots of columns and furniture, so the PC can unse the environment to their advantage. i hope they really do that.^^

 

[WampusCat43]

We need Initiative, +? to hit vs. AC for the slam, ability scores...

A 27 Fort defense?