Proven_Paradox
2009-09-29, 01:58 PM
(Cross posted over at Myth Weavers, but I suspect the higher traffic here will get more feedback...)
Okay, so. I'm planning an encounter for my players soon, and I'd like some feedback and suggestions. When the players get to this fight, they'll be 14th level gestalt built on 36 point buy. I don't think these will be a major factor here, but there are houserules (http://z4.invisionfree.com/Nocturne_FtAotOW/index.php?showtopic=545). The party currently consists of the following:
Arax
Young Emerald Dragon LA/RHD/Fighter//Psychic warrior
The party bruiser, with the highest AC, HP, and access to Greater Concealing Amorpha. He typically fights by opening with a highly augment Psionic Lion's Charge, then spends the rest of the fight whittling foes down with his flurry of 7+ natural attacks. Part of the loot for the last encounter was a custom set of claw attachments that allows him use power points to imbue his natural attacks with the properties of silver/adamantine/so on for damage reduction purposes. Most of his power points are tied up in defensive buffs while he relies on his dragon traits for offense. He's built primarily with survival in mind, but remains dangerous enough for enemies to keep their attention on him. His saves could use some work, but they're not terrible.
Agiros
Spellscale Ghost LA/Favored Soul//Sorcerer
Primary arcanist with mostly debuff/save-or-suck/lose/die spells. However, he's taken one direct damage spell per level, and so far he's relied on those far more than he should have. Beyond his blasting, he's very fond of his enervation and has combined it with some of the other party members' save-or-suck abilities to devastating effect. I've talked to him a bit about better use of his debuffs, but whether he took that to heart remains to be seen. I expect he will fall back to spamming disintegrate during this fight, but for what I have in mind that might actually be the best plan for him. His Favored Soul side doesn't see much use; it's primarily there so he can use inflict spells to heal himself and to boost his saves a bit. Aside from being incorporeal, his defenses (including saves) are weak, but he knows this and has thus far remained well out of reach.
Cal
Human Favored Soul//Spontaneous Cleric/Crusader/Ruby Knight Vindicator
He focuses on self buffs and melee, throwing an occasional Devoted Spirit healing maneuver or simple Heal spell to keep people going mid-combat, and with some White Raven maneuvers ready to open various opportunities for the others. He's sword-and-board, so his damage isn't exactly mind blowing, but he's shown he can balance maneuver use and spell slinging intelligently. He mostly uses the Cleric casting for out of cfombat utility spells, while the Favored Soul side has his power-house buffing abilities. He's also carrying a minor vigor wand for out of combat healing. Strong defenses (but not -quite- as strong as Arax's), decent saves, several DMM-extended buffs, and overall a solid combatant. He's basically ignoring his rebuke undead, using attempts to fuel DMM Extend and RKV class features.
Issiah
Human Psion (Nomad)//Psychic Rogue/Warblade
The sneak and trap handler. He's new to the group, so I'm not sure how he'll perform. On his sheet, he's got an interesting mix of self-buffs, debuffs, self-healing, utility, and blasting powers available to make him a well-rounded caster. He's got multiple ways to become invisible as well as ways open up opportunities to hide, letting the Darkstalker feat keep him below the radar for the various stealth killers, and a stealth modifier of approximately WTF. He's a survivalist primarily, and short of DM fiat there aren't a lot of ways I can pin him down if he doesn't want me to. That said, if he -does- manage to get stuck in melee, his HP and AC are pretty pathetic and he will splat quickly. His warblade dip is there for the Diamond Mind save boosting maneuvers. I strongly suspect he will be the top damage dealer with overchanneled-empowered crystal shard spells bolstered by sneak attack.
Jessica
Fire-souled Human LA/How-It-Should-Be Paladin (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33551) of Lastai//Marshal(dip)/favored soul/Heartwarder (AUGH GESTALT MULTICLASSING)
She's got about a dozen ways to bring her absurdly high charisma into play in a fight. Among the loot for the last fight was a custom whip for her that she should be able to utilize to disarm targets really well, and she has the marshal aura that adds her charisma modifier to disarm attempts. She currently has the highest attack bonus in the group, but also the lowest physical damage. She typically opens with group buffs (being incredibly fond of Righteous Wrath of the Faithful among others) and works to augment the others' capabilities while occasionally taking pot-shots to whittle foes down a bit. Mostly utility/buff spells on her list. Her defenses are top-notch and her saves are unbeatable, though she lacks a consistent means of getting a miss chance.
The Jester
Nymph LA/RHD/Hexer//Warlock
First off, Hexer is a PrC from a 3.0 book I found that was originally intended for high level Adepts. It adds a few curses and gaze attacks to her abilities. It suited the character concept well enough that I tweaked it to be workable, and it now progresses the druid spellcasting she gets for being a nymph.
She's the group's default ranged combatant; Issiah has higher damage potential than she, but he'll burn through his power points -fast- like that. Being a nymph, her charisma is really high, and so she can actually utilize the various warlock save-provoking spells effectively. The DCs aren't as high as equivalent level spells, but they're close, and she's going to make enemies save every round; combined with the negative levels Agiros deals out, she's actually disabled otherwise dangerous fights with Noxious Blast and her Fear hex (one of the Hexer curses--will save or panic). Her druid casting is mostly buffing and utility focused. She's got a lot of movement based invocations and is probably the most mobile character on the team (Issiah eventually runs out of PP). Her saves are unbeatable, her AC is decent, she'll usually be invisible and flying, and she can always Flee The Scene if they get close.
Now for the fight. Last encounter, I basically gave the monster creation rules the finger and set something up with arbitrarily high HP. They chewed through poor Scylla eventually though. This time--as a challenge for myself for giggles--I want to set up a series of fights with actual characters, fully adhering to the character creation rules as I've set them forward to my players--in other words, I'm trying not to use Rule 0 to justify these fights. I'm going for level 16 gestalt characters I've made myself. 36 point buy, 14th level wealth (don't want them to get their hands on stuff a sixteenth level character would have quite yet).
The fight I come to MW to discuss will involve a 'human' Dread Necromancer 16//Bard 11/Dirgesinger 5 (LM). The idea should be fairly clear; this is a minion master, using his spells and dirgesong to bolster his horde of minions and hamper the PCs. Here (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=156665) is his sheet in progress. His minions will all be wielding actual weapons, which he will augment in the morning with a chained Greater Magic Weapon. When the fight starts, he opens with Inspirational Boost and Inspire Courage to further empower his minions.
My first and most important question. What kind of undead should he have with him? As I'm reading things, he can control 208 HD of undead, with a maximum of 32 HD for each individual creature. I want him to have a pair of Wraiths and perhaps a few Shadows, plus at least one really, really big creature. Colossal would be best, but Gargantuan is good too. In addition, I'd like him to have a few archers in there somewhere; a set of skeletons armed with bows most likely. What are some good creatures to apply skeleton/zombie templates to for filling out Death's horde? Are there rules for using Create Undead/Create Greater Undead to produce advanced versions of its creations? I'd like some more HD on those Wraiths if possible. Also, is there a method of increasing the HD limit of Animate Dead above 20? Are there published ways to create types of undead available in books besides MMI for him to use?
Next, I'm torn on his feat choices. Right now I have him getting his Chain spell for his GMW from an actual feat and spell slot, but I might instead have him use a Lesser Metamagic Chaining rod to clear up room for the Corpsecrafter (http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Corpsecrafter,all) line. Corpsecrafter itself is redundant with his Undead Master from Dread Necromancer, but Hardened Flesh (http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Hardened_Flesh,all), Nimble Bones (http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Nimble_Bones,all), and Destruction Retribution (http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Destruction_Retribution,all) all seem pretty neat--especially the last one. Alternatively, I could focus on the bard side with various song enhancing feats... Any suggestions here?
Lastly. He's got an Advanced Learning left to use on a spell up to 6th level. Any recommendations?
Okay, so. I'm planning an encounter for my players soon, and I'd like some feedback and suggestions. When the players get to this fight, they'll be 14th level gestalt built on 36 point buy. I don't think these will be a major factor here, but there are houserules (http://z4.invisionfree.com/Nocturne_FtAotOW/index.php?showtopic=545). The party currently consists of the following:
Arax
Young Emerald Dragon LA/RHD/Fighter//Psychic warrior
The party bruiser, with the highest AC, HP, and access to Greater Concealing Amorpha. He typically fights by opening with a highly augment Psionic Lion's Charge, then spends the rest of the fight whittling foes down with his flurry of 7+ natural attacks. Part of the loot for the last encounter was a custom set of claw attachments that allows him use power points to imbue his natural attacks with the properties of silver/adamantine/so on for damage reduction purposes. Most of his power points are tied up in defensive buffs while he relies on his dragon traits for offense. He's built primarily with survival in mind, but remains dangerous enough for enemies to keep their attention on him. His saves could use some work, but they're not terrible.
Agiros
Spellscale Ghost LA/Favored Soul//Sorcerer
Primary arcanist with mostly debuff/save-or-suck/lose/die spells. However, he's taken one direct damage spell per level, and so far he's relied on those far more than he should have. Beyond his blasting, he's very fond of his enervation and has combined it with some of the other party members' save-or-suck abilities to devastating effect. I've talked to him a bit about better use of his debuffs, but whether he took that to heart remains to be seen. I expect he will fall back to spamming disintegrate during this fight, but for what I have in mind that might actually be the best plan for him. His Favored Soul side doesn't see much use; it's primarily there so he can use inflict spells to heal himself and to boost his saves a bit. Aside from being incorporeal, his defenses (including saves) are weak, but he knows this and has thus far remained well out of reach.
Cal
Human Favored Soul//Spontaneous Cleric/Crusader/Ruby Knight Vindicator
He focuses on self buffs and melee, throwing an occasional Devoted Spirit healing maneuver or simple Heal spell to keep people going mid-combat, and with some White Raven maneuvers ready to open various opportunities for the others. He's sword-and-board, so his damage isn't exactly mind blowing, but he's shown he can balance maneuver use and spell slinging intelligently. He mostly uses the Cleric casting for out of cfombat utility spells, while the Favored Soul side has his power-house buffing abilities. He's also carrying a minor vigor wand for out of combat healing. Strong defenses (but not -quite- as strong as Arax's), decent saves, several DMM-extended buffs, and overall a solid combatant. He's basically ignoring his rebuke undead, using attempts to fuel DMM Extend and RKV class features.
Issiah
Human Psion (Nomad)//Psychic Rogue/Warblade
The sneak and trap handler. He's new to the group, so I'm not sure how he'll perform. On his sheet, he's got an interesting mix of self-buffs, debuffs, self-healing, utility, and blasting powers available to make him a well-rounded caster. He's got multiple ways to become invisible as well as ways open up opportunities to hide, letting the Darkstalker feat keep him below the radar for the various stealth killers, and a stealth modifier of approximately WTF. He's a survivalist primarily, and short of DM fiat there aren't a lot of ways I can pin him down if he doesn't want me to. That said, if he -does- manage to get stuck in melee, his HP and AC are pretty pathetic and he will splat quickly. His warblade dip is there for the Diamond Mind save boosting maneuvers. I strongly suspect he will be the top damage dealer with overchanneled-empowered crystal shard spells bolstered by sneak attack.
Jessica
Fire-souled Human LA/How-It-Should-Be Paladin (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33551) of Lastai//Marshal(dip)/favored soul/Heartwarder (AUGH GESTALT MULTICLASSING)
She's got about a dozen ways to bring her absurdly high charisma into play in a fight. Among the loot for the last fight was a custom whip for her that she should be able to utilize to disarm targets really well, and she has the marshal aura that adds her charisma modifier to disarm attempts. She currently has the highest attack bonus in the group, but also the lowest physical damage. She typically opens with group buffs (being incredibly fond of Righteous Wrath of the Faithful among others) and works to augment the others' capabilities while occasionally taking pot-shots to whittle foes down a bit. Mostly utility/buff spells on her list. Her defenses are top-notch and her saves are unbeatable, though she lacks a consistent means of getting a miss chance.
The Jester
Nymph LA/RHD/Hexer//Warlock
First off, Hexer is a PrC from a 3.0 book I found that was originally intended for high level Adepts. It adds a few curses and gaze attacks to her abilities. It suited the character concept well enough that I tweaked it to be workable, and it now progresses the druid spellcasting she gets for being a nymph.
She's the group's default ranged combatant; Issiah has higher damage potential than she, but he'll burn through his power points -fast- like that. Being a nymph, her charisma is really high, and so she can actually utilize the various warlock save-provoking spells effectively. The DCs aren't as high as equivalent level spells, but they're close, and she's going to make enemies save every round; combined with the negative levels Agiros deals out, she's actually disabled otherwise dangerous fights with Noxious Blast and her Fear hex (one of the Hexer curses--will save or panic). Her druid casting is mostly buffing and utility focused. She's got a lot of movement based invocations and is probably the most mobile character on the team (Issiah eventually runs out of PP). Her saves are unbeatable, her AC is decent, she'll usually be invisible and flying, and she can always Flee The Scene if they get close.
Now for the fight. Last encounter, I basically gave the monster creation rules the finger and set something up with arbitrarily high HP. They chewed through poor Scylla eventually though. This time--as a challenge for myself for giggles--I want to set up a series of fights with actual characters, fully adhering to the character creation rules as I've set them forward to my players--in other words, I'm trying not to use Rule 0 to justify these fights. I'm going for level 16 gestalt characters I've made myself. 36 point buy, 14th level wealth (don't want them to get their hands on stuff a sixteenth level character would have quite yet).
The fight I come to MW to discuss will involve a 'human' Dread Necromancer 16//Bard 11/Dirgesinger 5 (LM). The idea should be fairly clear; this is a minion master, using his spells and dirgesong to bolster his horde of minions and hamper the PCs. Here (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=156665) is his sheet in progress. His minions will all be wielding actual weapons, which he will augment in the morning with a chained Greater Magic Weapon. When the fight starts, he opens with Inspirational Boost and Inspire Courage to further empower his minions.
My first and most important question. What kind of undead should he have with him? As I'm reading things, he can control 208 HD of undead, with a maximum of 32 HD for each individual creature. I want him to have a pair of Wraiths and perhaps a few Shadows, plus at least one really, really big creature. Colossal would be best, but Gargantuan is good too. In addition, I'd like him to have a few archers in there somewhere; a set of skeletons armed with bows most likely. What are some good creatures to apply skeleton/zombie templates to for filling out Death's horde? Are there rules for using Create Undead/Create Greater Undead to produce advanced versions of its creations? I'd like some more HD on those Wraiths if possible. Also, is there a method of increasing the HD limit of Animate Dead above 20? Are there published ways to create types of undead available in books besides MMI for him to use?
Next, I'm torn on his feat choices. Right now I have him getting his Chain spell for his GMW from an actual feat and spell slot, but I might instead have him use a Lesser Metamagic Chaining rod to clear up room for the Corpsecrafter (http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Corpsecrafter,all) line. Corpsecrafter itself is redundant with his Undead Master from Dread Necromancer, but Hardened Flesh (http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Hardened_Flesh,all), Nimble Bones (http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Nimble_Bones,all), and Destruction Retribution (http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Destruction_Retribution,all) all seem pretty neat--especially the last one. Alternatively, I could focus on the bard side with various song enhancing feats... Any suggestions here?
Lastly. He's got an Advanced Learning left to use on a spell up to 6th level. Any recommendations?