Niho: A Brutal BBEG

[SleepyShadow]

I also posted this concern of mine here (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/27799145/Niho:_Too_tough_for_a_BBEG), but Playgrounders seem to be more helpful the majority of the time than the folks over at the CharOp boards.

My concern is this: Is Niho really too powerful to ever be used? :smallfrown:

[Cog]

Despite being weaker than basic Sorcerer, Battle Sorc is still easily tier 2, and you've but some strong gish PrCs on it while hardly losing any casting. Like any relatively-optimized tier 2 character, they'll have an answer for pretty much any situation, as you've noticed, so unless the party is similarly optimized they won't have much chance - and they'll certainly need at least one of the heavy casters on their side to compete. Niho's Quicken Spell isn't much use without Rapid Metamagic or a different familiar-trading ACF, though.

[myancey]

No, he is pretty doable. The guy on the other thread presents a valid question though build wise.

If the players have a solid dispeller, this character could be taken down quickly, if I'm not mistaken.

My players are pretty good at optimizing. He might take one down if he solidly focuses on that one...but they'd kick the crud out of him in 3 rounds at most.

But it also depends on what level you'd introduce him to your party. If the party has an EL of 6, of course he'd win. In my experience, a gap in levels of 4-5 or more can create a TPK easily.

[SleepyShadow]

I like to think I am at least a competent enough DM to not throw a CR 20 at a level 6 group :smallannoyed:

That aside, the PCs themselves were fairly well-optimized. I did not use any rules, books, or abilities that they themselves did not have access to. Perhaps the real problem was that the group's two casters both died round 1.

If Niho is not overpowered, then I have no qualms about running him as a PC this weekend. I just wanted to run him by a couple forums before springing him on some hapless DM at the game store. :smallamused:

[WinWin]

Rocket Tag. He fired first is all.

Could just have easily been an anticlimactic fight with a DMM cleric and a Duskblade in the mix. I'm not saying the fighter and rogue would not have been able to contribute, but magical mobility typically requires magic to counter.

Without the 2 casters, picking off the other members of the group would have been fairly easy. If he had been subjected to lockdown, he would have been curbstomped pretty quickly.

[myancey]

I like to think I am at least a competent enough DM to not throw a CR 20 at a level 6 group :smallannoyed:

That aside, the PCs themselves were fairly well-optimized. I did not use any rules, books, or abilities that they themselves did not have access to. Perhaps the real problem was that the group's two casters both died round 1.

If Niho is not overpowered, then I have no qualms about running him as a PC this weekend. I just wanted to run him by a couple forums before springing him on some hapless DM at the game store. :smallamused:

Sorry, wasn't questioning competency--just giving an extreme example.

That aside, provided he's completely RAW in terms of those feats/abilities he had, I'd say play him.