Novawurmson
2013-09-13, 09:09 AM
Hello! My players: STAY OUT!
Anyway, moving right along:
One of the primary villains of my current campaign is a murderjack (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fw/20040828a). TL;DR: They're Slenderman, only they hunt in packs, strip the skin from your flesh, and heal you when you stop moving (to prolong your agony).
However, I really want to make their leader (hereafter referred to as Jack Graft) into a Dread (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/psionics-unleashed/classes/dread) (a psionic class that thrives off fear).
Here's the problem: I want the party to be able to fight him as soon as possible, but a murderjack is a CR 9 and the party is level 4 currently. Level 6 would be an OK time for them to fight ONE murderjack, but again, they hunt in packs, and even just 3 of them would be a CR 12 encounter, so I want to increase Jack Graft's CR as little as possible.
Beyond this, the murderjack is pretty under-CR'ed, in my opinion. 15 HD, 7d6 sneak attack, 10th level Bard casting, damage reduction, spell resistance, free action movement, miss chance, fear, Wis damage...it adds up.
One simple thing I'm considering for Jack Graft is switching out his Bard casting for Dread manifesting, which has some pretty great stuff (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/psionics-unleashed/power-lists/power-list-dread) (what's worse than being stalked by a murderous vivisecting slenderman? Having all your senses overloaded while you know you're being stalked by a murderous vivisecting slenderman (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/psionics-unleashed/psionic-powers/s/sensory-cascade).
However, I'm torn over two more things: Terrors (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/psionics-unleashed/classes/dread/dread-terrors) and Aura of Fear (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/psionics-unleashed/classes/dread#TOC-Aura-of-Fear-Su-). Terrors just have so much potential to screw with someone. For example: Mindlock.
Mindlock
The dread can invade the mind of an enemy through their subsconscious by making a melee touch attack that does not provoke attacks of opportunity. The target must succeed on a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 the dread’s class level + the dread’s Charisma modifier), or be mindlocked for 1 minute per dread level. A mindlock allows the dread to either channel her devastating touch ability at range as a standard action which automatically hits, or attempt an Intimidate check on the target, even though the target might be out of normal range or out of sight. The range of the mindlock is 10 feet per dread level, and the dread does not need line of effect or line of sight once a mindlock is established. This is a mind-affecting effect. A dread can only sustain one mindlock at a time. If the dread attempts to mindlock a new target while another mindlock is active, the active mindlock ends. The dread is aware if the mindlock fails or ends, although she does not necessarily know the reason. The dread must be at least 4th level to select this option.
TL;DR - Touch someone, then be able to make Intimidate checks and damage them at range without needing line of sight. Run in, touch someone, get out, laugh maniacally as wounds open up all over their body for no apparent reason.
Aura of Fear is kind of necessary for making a fear-focused villain work properly; one of my players is a binder, and will be getting full fear immunity by the time they meet up with Jack Graft.
So here's kind of what I'm thinking:
1. Am I right in thinking it would it be fair to swap out bard casting 10 for dread manifesting 10?
2. Would it be fair to drop sneak attack for terrors and devastating touch of a 13th level dread, as you'd need a minimum of rogue level 13 for 7d6 sneak attack?
3. What would be a fair trade for Aura of Fear to avoid needing to add +3 to his CR for three levels of dread?
Anyway, moving right along:
One of the primary villains of my current campaign is a murderjack (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fw/20040828a). TL;DR: They're Slenderman, only they hunt in packs, strip the skin from your flesh, and heal you when you stop moving (to prolong your agony).
However, I really want to make their leader (hereafter referred to as Jack Graft) into a Dread (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/psionics-unleashed/classes/dread) (a psionic class that thrives off fear).
Here's the problem: I want the party to be able to fight him as soon as possible, but a murderjack is a CR 9 and the party is level 4 currently. Level 6 would be an OK time for them to fight ONE murderjack, but again, they hunt in packs, and even just 3 of them would be a CR 12 encounter, so I want to increase Jack Graft's CR as little as possible.
Beyond this, the murderjack is pretty under-CR'ed, in my opinion. 15 HD, 7d6 sneak attack, 10th level Bard casting, damage reduction, spell resistance, free action movement, miss chance, fear, Wis damage...it adds up.
One simple thing I'm considering for Jack Graft is switching out his Bard casting for Dread manifesting, which has some pretty great stuff (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/psionics-unleashed/power-lists/power-list-dread) (what's worse than being stalked by a murderous vivisecting slenderman? Having all your senses overloaded while you know you're being stalked by a murderous vivisecting slenderman (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/psionics-unleashed/psionic-powers/s/sensory-cascade).
However, I'm torn over two more things: Terrors (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/psionics-unleashed/classes/dread/dread-terrors) and Aura of Fear (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/psionics-unleashed/classes/dread#TOC-Aura-of-Fear-Su-). Terrors just have so much potential to screw with someone. For example: Mindlock.
Mindlock
The dread can invade the mind of an enemy through their subsconscious by making a melee touch attack that does not provoke attacks of opportunity. The target must succeed on a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 the dread’s class level + the dread’s Charisma modifier), or be mindlocked for 1 minute per dread level. A mindlock allows the dread to either channel her devastating touch ability at range as a standard action which automatically hits, or attempt an Intimidate check on the target, even though the target might be out of normal range or out of sight. The range of the mindlock is 10 feet per dread level, and the dread does not need line of effect or line of sight once a mindlock is established. This is a mind-affecting effect. A dread can only sustain one mindlock at a time. If the dread attempts to mindlock a new target while another mindlock is active, the active mindlock ends. The dread is aware if the mindlock fails or ends, although she does not necessarily know the reason. The dread must be at least 4th level to select this option.
TL;DR - Touch someone, then be able to make Intimidate checks and damage them at range without needing line of sight. Run in, touch someone, get out, laugh maniacally as wounds open up all over their body for no apparent reason.
Aura of Fear is kind of necessary for making a fear-focused villain work properly; one of my players is a binder, and will be getting full fear immunity by the time they meet up with Jack Graft.
So here's kind of what I'm thinking:
1. Am I right in thinking it would it be fair to swap out bard casting 10 for dread manifesting 10?
2. Would it be fair to drop sneak attack for terrors and devastating touch of a 13th level dread, as you'd need a minimum of rogue level 13 for 7d6 sneak attack?
3. What would be a fair trade for Aura of Fear to avoid needing to add +3 to his CR for three levels of dread?