Ultimate Underground Fighter/Hunter

[kalos72]

Suggestions on thew best undeground / Underdark warrior/hunter killer type?

I want to create an NPC that can lead a crack team of dwarves(?) against the Aboleth in Neverwinter.

I do have access to a Mul Psion...that might be cool to start?

[Kuulvheysoon]

Now, is this 4th Edition or 3.5? Because in 3.5, Neverwinter is a thriving city. It's only post-Spellplague that the Abolethic Sovereignty moves in.

If this is 3.5, I'd suggest looking into the Underdark Knight substitution level for Paladins. They get Earth Glide.

[kalos72]

Good point...I am torn on the 3v4 versions of Neverwinter to be honest.

Say 4 since the Aboleth arent an issues in 3...

Also, what Special gear would you suggest for ultimate success?

Can a mod move this thread pls...I wasnt thinking about the Aboleth being 4.

[Optimator]

Deep Wardens are cool. I'm sure you can work them in somehow.

[kalos72]

The 4e Dungeoncraft book has some nice ideas as well...

I was also thinking of ways to utilize fire or maybe a cloud based attack to clear out sections of tunnels/caves prior to advancing through them.

Like bombing them before sending in the ground forces...or using a flamer from the Alien series. :P

[kalos72]

Ok so maybe the internet is bad... :)

My group found a post about using multiple Ray of Stupidity as an instakill almost....

3-4 rays on an Aboleth and game over most likely...

[Eldariel]

Ok so maybe the internet is bad... :)

My group found a post about using multiple Ray of Stupidity as an instakill almost....

3-4 rays on an Aboleth and game over most likely...

3-4 attacks kills an Aboleth too. That's not a very efficient option. Aboleths are masters of illusion; anything short of True Seeing and players don't know if the land they're walking on is really there or that the Aboleth they're attacking is actually real. They can Ray of Stupidity illusions as many times as they want to no effect except losing their spell slots. Worst is that Aboleths possess Project Image which means they can attack the party through an Illusion that can't really be harmed. And this is just one Aboleth; imagine the chaos multiples can cause. They're of course at their most dangerous underwater but they are dreadful opponents on the surface too.

The real psionic version of Aboleth from Complete Psionics lacks Project Image but has a whole array of strong powers so it's also a force to reckon with. Hell, Remote Viewing enables similar stuff. Of course, False Sensory Input also trumps True Seeing so there's that. And Aboleths have Enslave/Dominate either way so you should have them packing some thralls they can use to fight the PCs. All its powers are quite powerful and it really thrives at causing chaos amidst the PCs, doubly so if there are multiple Aboleths present.


Note, Aboleths are also quite smart and can use equipment so that's something to consider. Their mind is quite the alien thing for humans but still, consider Wands/Dorjes (depending on if you use Psionics) & maybe defensive items and items that increase the already substantial confusion they can sow.

Remember, Aboleth's best defense is not getting attacked at all. It's a chessmaster much like a Vampire; it shapes the battlefield from safety and fights with dominated thralls and mind-affecting power.

Saph's campaign journal (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7838780) showcases quite well-played Aboleths, for instance, if you want ideas on what they can do.

[kalos72]

Our thinking is...a group of 5+ people with Ray style weapons/items. And my PC group to occupy the aboleth while the lower level guys kill em.

One on one our PC group is a match for a few aboleths...throw in Ray wielding henchman and it becomes a quicker encounter.

[Eldariel]

Our thinking is...a group of 5+ people with Ray style weapons/items. And my PC group to occupy the aboleth while the lower level guys kill em.

One on one our PC group is a match for a few aboleths...throw in Ray wielding henchman and it becomes a quicker encounter.

If they can find the real Aboleth. Usually it's Aboleth striking first from safety with Project Image/Remove Viewing, invoking couple of saves from the cover of illusionary walls that the PCs can't see through in a network of fake and real walls, or from the cover of water. Then the enemies are swarmed with Aboleth thralls and illusionary thralls while Aboleths try to isolate individual characters for enslaving or slimey doom.

A fight where a PC group occupies Aboleth while others attack it (also, Ray of Stupidity is a level 2 spell, so a Wand costs 4000; it's not trivial price/construction-wise to equip multiple underlings with one). Also, Ray of Stupidity does require 5 castings on average to drop even an average Aboleth (3.5*4 = 14, which leaves it at 1 Int), let alone a particularly intelligent one.

[Dusk Eclipse]

What the hell is going on with me, I read Eldariel's post about how smart and dangerous Aboleths can be and I immediatly thought of Saph's campaign, I was going to post the link, I had the exact post ready to be cross posted when I realized Eldariel already linked to it :smallsigh:.

[Eldariel]

What the hell is going on with me, I read Eldariel's post about how smart and dangerous Aboleths can be and I immediatly thought of Saph's campaign, I was going to post the link, I had the exact post ready to be cross posted when I realized Eldariel already linked to it :smallsigh:.

Sounds like a serious case of Conpulsio Responsio Prius Concludio Lectio* (compulsive response before finishing reading in intentionally garbled Latin).

[Dusk Eclipse]

You are probably right, I'll leave this thread while I still have some dignity.

[kalos72]

Thats true...it wont be trivial but for a group of high teen PC's with subsantial magical support, it becomes easier. Add in the silliness of Ray of Stupidity and one cave at a time we go...

Then there is always the "wait em out" approach...slowly kill all the thralls and they either get drawn out OR flee.

We had also talked about poisoning the lake they are hold up in...or fire bombing the Chasm itself. Fun planning sessions... :)

Addin in some heavy +CHA gear and the resits are pretty easy...

[Eldariel]

Thats true...it wont be trivial but for a group of high teen PC's with subsantial magical support, it becomes easier. Add in the silliness of Ray of Stupidity and one cave at a time we go...

Then there is always the "wait em out" approach...slowly kill all the thralls and they either get drawn out OR flee.

We had also talked about poisoning the lake they are hold up in...or fire bombing the Chasm itself. Fun planning sessions... :)

Poison might not work that well; Aboleth anatomy is fairly alien so it's pretty hard to say which poison would have an effect on them and which wouldn't. Long distance brute force attacks are certainly a good bet; they care little for illusions or such and don't put your party at the risk of being mindraped or afflicted.

On the flipside, firebombing specifically is probably quite weak unless you can wield fire on the level of nuclear warheads since large pools of water tend to offer a very solid natural defense against fire.


If you're in high teens, you'll have access to True Seeing which makes life about 100000 times easier. Freedom of Movement helps act in water too though of course you don't want to touch Aboleth Mucus if you can avoid it (nasty stuff). Some spells can help you here though, and of course Iridescent Spindle Ioun Stone removes the need to breathe entirely.


Sending in any significant number of your lower level allies is probably a bad idea; they'll just get Enslaved and come back to try and kill you. Doubly bad if they're armed with weapons that can actually significantly threaten you, such as Ray of Stupidity.

By the same token, I wouldn't expect the Aboleths to send a significant number of their thralls against you unless they use the distraction to move against you themselves. If you fight the thralls, you'll probably have to deal with the magical attacks of the Aboleths simultaneously.

If you plan on using your own soldiers, using them as distractions while you personally deal with the Aboleths might work quite well; they have fairly low HP so if you can get to them, warriors can drop them fast and they're quite vulnerable to Death Magic with their average Fortitude-saves (they have no special immunities to save-or-die effects and high level casters drop them like flies).

[kalos72]

Well they do have a solitary position...the lake where the Spellplague is located.

IF we work one cave at a time...securing each as we move along. Killing thralls as we go...the numbers should start to move quickly.

If the Aboleths engage directly, high CHA and Rays will handle them I would think.

Question is two fold for me:
1 - How large is the group of Aboleths?
2 - How bad do they want that Spellplague?

[kalos72]

How about the Aberration Hunter class?

Also what magic items/spells would be good o have prepared if your going after an Aboleth lair?

[kalos72]

All previous fluff behind...

Suggestions for 3.5 best dungeon/Underdark crawler class? Or even some really good base skills?