big teej
2011-08-31, 11:22 AM
greetings playgrounders.
after almost a year of out of game time (and about 8 months or so in game) a recurring villian is going to vex my party again.
-ahem- pardon me for a moment.
A note to my school players, if you are reading this, terrible things WILL happen. stop reading now.... no, seriously, click away now. go back to the main page.... ya know what, just to be safe, close the browser, and try again. thanks
the above does not apply to my summer group.
anyways.
last time the party fought the villian (Jaeger for those of you wanting a name)
he was designed to be a challenge in a 1 on 1 situation (which he offered the party, and the paladin took)
but trounced in the event that the party ganged up on him (which they did, much to the paladin's displeasure)
this time around, I expect them to gang up on him. as such, I plan to give him a bit more oomph.
Jaeger is a Fighter, his last fight had him focus on chain tripping and TWF
I'm looking for templates/feats/nifty items to jazz him up a bit this time around.
in addition to jaeger, the party will also have to fight somewhere in the neighborhood of 4 - 8 fiends. I have not determined what these will be yet, but that isn't important to you.
here is the party followed by my summarized questiosn
oh, and with the exception of the druid, everyone is 5th level
Costain, Lawful Good Human Paladin - charge smite ACF
Tarik, Neutral Good Dwarf Fighter - Racial Sub levels
Raulkor, Neutral? Good Gnome Cleric - casting houserule, see below
Arcilliere, Chaotic Good Human Barbarian
Zook, Chaotic Neutral Gnome Bard - casting houserule, see below
Lan, Neutral Good Human Ranger - TWF, uses a greataxe, favored enemy Humans
newbies/returning players
Halfing Rogue - never played dnd before.
Lawesse, True Neutral Druid - hasn't played in almost a year, casting houserule, see below. wolf animal companion
Casting houserule: instead of the "bonus spells for high stat" table, we use a simple + casting stat modifier rule. I.E. a 1st level cleric with a + 4 wisdom modifier would have +4 0 level and +4 1st level spells per day
question: what templates/feats/etc. do you recommend slapping on jaeger to make him a bit more threatening? I am currently considering slapping the half-fiend template on him and giving him a few more fighter levels. and then, when he reapears later, give him something like the Corrupted template or some other template that helps represent that each time he loses, he becomes less human.
oh, one last little tidbit that may be of help
typical party tactics/role in group.
Costain - easily the party leader, both in game and out, very tactically sound, but also prone to debatebly foolhardy actions
typical role: party tactician and planner, primary melee
usual tactics: run up to baddie and whale on them, or stand by the party and protect squishies, depends on what he feel the situation warrants. however, in the event that he feels the battle will turn against the party, he will charge the biggest threat and attempt to lock them down while the party escapes.
Tarik - a more thuggish counterpart to Costain's refinement. fights with a massive axe.
usual tactics: if the situation warrants it, he'll hang back until the enemy enters charge distance and plink at them with his crossbow. once the enemy is in range, he will typically enter melee as quickly as possible, both to slow down the enemy, and becuase this is where his damage potential is the highest.
Raulkor - the player is coming into a great understanding of his spells, and uses them effectively. he plays an excellent role buffing the party and using his spells to lock down/reduce threats outside the other member's ability to handle.
arcillere - combat brute, pure and simple, unlike tarik, she's liable to charge the enemy as soon as her initative comes up, especially if Costain can't get her to hold back quick enough.
Zook - party bard, only consistant contribution is inspire courage. and misfortunate bullet soak and bad luck magnet
Lan - tends to wade into melee at the earliest opportunity, typically prepares entangle for spells
Lawesse - very limited usefulness last time she played, she typically casts a spell or two per combat and/or session and fulfills the role of "hang back and see where I'm needed" while her wolf munches on fallen enemies.
Halfling - ???????????????????/
Gribnik and Fluffy - the gnome's badgers, they are typically used as either speed bumps, distractions, or bodyguards for the squishier members when costain, tarik, and arcilliere run off to battle.
if there are no further questions, please discuss how you would go about beefing up a recurring villian for round 2
after almost a year of out of game time (and about 8 months or so in game) a recurring villian is going to vex my party again.
-ahem- pardon me for a moment.
A note to my school players, if you are reading this, terrible things WILL happen. stop reading now.... no, seriously, click away now. go back to the main page.... ya know what, just to be safe, close the browser, and try again. thanks
the above does not apply to my summer group.
anyways.
last time the party fought the villian (Jaeger for those of you wanting a name)
he was designed to be a challenge in a 1 on 1 situation (which he offered the party, and the paladin took)
but trounced in the event that the party ganged up on him (which they did, much to the paladin's displeasure)
this time around, I expect them to gang up on him. as such, I plan to give him a bit more oomph.
Jaeger is a Fighter, his last fight had him focus on chain tripping and TWF
I'm looking for templates/feats/nifty items to jazz him up a bit this time around.
in addition to jaeger, the party will also have to fight somewhere in the neighborhood of 4 - 8 fiends. I have not determined what these will be yet, but that isn't important to you.
here is the party followed by my summarized questiosn
oh, and with the exception of the druid, everyone is 5th level
Costain, Lawful Good Human Paladin - charge smite ACF
Tarik, Neutral Good Dwarf Fighter - Racial Sub levels
Raulkor, Neutral? Good Gnome Cleric - casting houserule, see below
Arcilliere, Chaotic Good Human Barbarian
Zook, Chaotic Neutral Gnome Bard - casting houserule, see below
Lan, Neutral Good Human Ranger - TWF, uses a greataxe, favored enemy Humans
newbies/returning players
Halfing Rogue - never played dnd before.
Lawesse, True Neutral Druid - hasn't played in almost a year, casting houserule, see below. wolf animal companion
Casting houserule: instead of the "bonus spells for high stat" table, we use a simple + casting stat modifier rule. I.E. a 1st level cleric with a + 4 wisdom modifier would have +4 0 level and +4 1st level spells per day
question: what templates/feats/etc. do you recommend slapping on jaeger to make him a bit more threatening? I am currently considering slapping the half-fiend template on him and giving him a few more fighter levels. and then, when he reapears later, give him something like the Corrupted template or some other template that helps represent that each time he loses, he becomes less human.
oh, one last little tidbit that may be of help
typical party tactics/role in group.
Costain - easily the party leader, both in game and out, very tactically sound, but also prone to debatebly foolhardy actions
typical role: party tactician and planner, primary melee
usual tactics: run up to baddie and whale on them, or stand by the party and protect squishies, depends on what he feel the situation warrants. however, in the event that he feels the battle will turn against the party, he will charge the biggest threat and attempt to lock them down while the party escapes.
Tarik - a more thuggish counterpart to Costain's refinement. fights with a massive axe.
usual tactics: if the situation warrants it, he'll hang back until the enemy enters charge distance and plink at them with his crossbow. once the enemy is in range, he will typically enter melee as quickly as possible, both to slow down the enemy, and becuase this is where his damage potential is the highest.
Raulkor - the player is coming into a great understanding of his spells, and uses them effectively. he plays an excellent role buffing the party and using his spells to lock down/reduce threats outside the other member's ability to handle.
arcillere - combat brute, pure and simple, unlike tarik, she's liable to charge the enemy as soon as her initative comes up, especially if Costain can't get her to hold back quick enough.
Zook - party bard, only consistant contribution is inspire courage. and misfortunate bullet soak and bad luck magnet
Lan - tends to wade into melee at the earliest opportunity, typically prepares entangle for spells
Lawesse - very limited usefulness last time she played, she typically casts a spell or two per combat and/or session and fulfills the role of "hang back and see where I'm needed" while her wolf munches on fallen enemies.
Halfling - ???????????????????/
Gribnik and Fluffy - the gnome's badgers, they are typically used as either speed bumps, distractions, or bodyguards for the squishier members when costain, tarik, and arcilliere run off to battle.
if there are no further questions, please discuss how you would go about beefing up a recurring villian for round 2