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View Full Version : Goodbye Tarrasque simulacrum... back to the drawing board



true_shinken
2011-01-26, 09:38 AM
OK, I gave up on the idea of a tarrasque simulacrum. It would be too cruel for my players, since it keeps all of it's ability scores and stuff.
Now, I still want an army of simulacrums. What is the best creature you'd want as a 'mobile tank' with up to 16HD?

Radar
2011-01-26, 09:51 AM
Well hydras got good fast healing, ludicrous ammount of attacks and a fairly good reach. With some low-level buffs, that would protect it from ranged attacks, it can tear through any regular army. Make it a cryohydra (or pyrohydra) and gain a good AoE attack (Reflex for half, but still).

true_shinken
2011-01-26, 09:58 AM
Well hydras got good fast healing, ludicrous ammount of attacks and a fairly good reach. With some low-level buffs, that would protect it from ranged attacks, it can tear through any regular army. Make it a cryohydra (or pyrohydra) and gain a good AoE attack (Reflex for half, but still).

Hm, I like that. Since I must use a specific creature, I might even use a templated hydra!

Waker
2011-01-26, 12:02 PM
Though there are many templates that could be added, I think my favorite is probably the Spellwarped Template from MMIII. Grants a creature SR, not to mention that whenever they successfully stop a spell, they gain an enhancement bonus.

Darrin
2011-01-26, 12:55 PM
Now, I still want an army of simulacrums. What is the best creature you'd want as a 'mobile tank' with up to 16HD?

For a Lolth-themed villain?

Spellgaunt (MM2) is arachnidish, but probably just as unfair as a Tarrasque (i.e., "disjunctive bite").

Inferno Spider (MMIV) looks like a spider, and is summonable via SMVI.

Non-spider options...

I've always been fond of Slaughterstone Eviscerators (MMIII).

On the hydra-theme, a Shrieking Terror (MMIII) has a lot of possibilities. It has the ability to "create your own army" of vargouilles, which could be absolutely deadly against a large number of low-level troops. The transformation doesn't happen right away and can be delayed via sunlight, allowing afflicted PCs to go through a dramatic "race to the nearest cleric". The swarms of vargouilles it creates are weak enough they won't overwhelm the PCs but still pose a considerable threat to local residents. It has several debilitating attacks (regenerating heads, Shriek, Poison, Kiss) that present unique challenges but aren't straight up save-or-die party-killers, and they can be mitigated/nullified by a party that thinks ahead and takes proper precautions (earplugs, heroes' feast, neutralize poison, remove disease, etc.).

For templates, add Lolth-touched and... was going to say Arachnoid but can't quite figure out how to make it a magical beast first.

[EDIT] More brainstorming:

Add Half-Farspawn for that "Unspeakable Tentacle-beast Horror from beyond the Far Realms" feel so not only do we know that Lolth is "All Evil Spiders All the Time", she's also bat$#!@ insane.

The PCs first get an idea of what they're dealing with when they break into a cultist temple and find all the cultists paralyzed by some unknown affliction, maybe a priest or two mumbling crazy nonsense about summoning something unspeakably horrible. They break into the inner sanctum (sealed from the inside for some reason) only to find a weakened half-dead shrieking terror gnawing on some high priests, only now it can get out. The PCs either finish it off or it escapes to wreak havoc on the locals, but just as the PCs catch their breath, all of the cultists' heads pop off and the vargouilles swarm in for the final nibble.

Later, after stamping out several vargouille outbreaks the PCs finally track down a simulacrum-version of the shrieking terror, not quite as strong as the real thing but still full-strength. Thinking they've finally gotten rid of the source of vargouilles, the spellthief lets several simulacrum-shrieking terrors go at the same time.

Next time the PCs run into one, she's been experimenting a bit to see if she can make them stronger, maybe asking Lolth to infuse them with abyssal energy to add the Corrupted by the Abyss template and/or mucking around with forbidden magic to add Spellwarped template.

When they finally corner the spellthief and she brings out the original non-simulacrum shrieking terror to cover her escape, it's now got 10 heads of pure whoopass.

Towards the finale, as the spellthief gurgles her final "death speech" about "Too late, you'll never stop them all!", she throws open a room full of several dozen simulacrum shrieking horrors, when a low-level druid wanders up and says, "Oh, simulacrum? The thaw spell kills them instantly. Watch." *poof*.

true_shinken
2011-01-26, 12:58 PM
For a Lolth-themed villain?

Sir, you are awesome.

Havelock
2011-01-26, 01:33 PM
I prefer effigies, doesn't burn that much XP. Does cost gold tho.

Cave Trolls are rather nasty for their HD. You could probably use simulacrum on one with advanced HD if you like.

Czin
2011-01-26, 01:38 PM
OK, I gave up on the idea of a tarrasque simulacrum. It would be too cruel for my players, since it keeps all of it's ability scores and stuff.
Now, I still want an army of simulacrums. What is the best creature you'd want as a 'mobile tank' with up to 16HD?

Behir advanced to 16 hit dice.
http://www.monsteradvancer.com/send/monster/doAdvancement.ma?monsterIndex=0&monsterPosition=1&quickened=&monsterName=Behir&advancementSelect=16G&advancementHd=9&advancementSize=H&classSelectBoxCount=1&class1=-1&classLevel1=1