Fey Dragonkiller...

[Jarmen4u]

Hey all, I'm planning to add a bad guy to my campaign that is capable of dueling (and killing) an Adult Gold dragon. The source of this event would stem from aggressive Fey action, so the enemy should have a Fey source, in some way. Unfortunately, I'm still pretty new to the magical world of Fey, and could use some pointers.

Thanks!

[daremetoidareyo]

Eberron's The forge of war has the mistling template that allows a fey to summon living spells composed of any spell he knows. So if he worshipped whoever it is that gives the spell domain, he can create living spells of arcane fusioned anyspells. If a duskling or killoren or pettle cleric had this template at level 1, the LA is +6, but he/she could have bought some of that off.

[Flickerdart]

If a duskling or killoren or pettle cleric had this template at level 1, the LA is +6, but he/she could have bought some of that off.
Hardly - you can only buy off 1 point of LA if your LA is +6, after gaining 18 class levels, at level 24 (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/reducingLevelAdjustments.htm). With the math given (every reduction happens at LA*3) the next level such a character would be able to buy off her LA would be after gaining another 15 class levels, reaching level 38.

[Crake]

Hey all, I'm planning to add a bad guy to my campaign that is capable of dueling (and killing) an Adult Gold dragon. The source of this event would stem from aggressive Fey action, so the enemy should have a Fey source, in some way. Unfortunately, I'm still pretty new to the magical world of Fey, and could use some pointers.

Thanks!

You're going to have to give us more than that. For instance, what level is this character?

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Knight of the Unseelie Court
Gloura (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20031003e), Cobra-Strike (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#monkVariantFightingSty les) (Fallen or Chaos) Monk 2/ Fighter 2/ Blackguard 3/ Arcane Duelist (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20030224a) 3/ Mystic Wanderer 1
Monk, Fighter, and Blackguard levels are nonassociated (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/improvingMonsters.htm#advancedMonsterChallengeRati ng), and fractions round down, so this opponent is CR 14. He (she?) has the equipment of an ECL 20 NPC.

Two flaws: Love of Nature and Aligned Devotion (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?258440-The-quot-Best-quot-Flaws#30) for two extra feats; say he gained Iron Will via the Otyugh Hole detailed in Complete Scoundrel.
Dodge, Mobility, Power Attack, Improved Sunder, Weapon Finesse, Improved Bull Rush, Shock Trooper, Ascetic Mage, Divine Might, EWP: Spiked Chain, Elusive Target, Combat Reflexes, Extra Turning.

Elite array:
Str 13 +1 (13 base)
Dex 24 +7 (8 base, +10 race, +6 enhancement)
Con 18 +4 (14 base, +4 race)
Int 10 +0 (10 base)
Wis 14 +2 (12 base, +2 race)
Cha 30 +10 (15 base, +6 race, +3 levels, +6 enhancement)

+1 Valorous (UE) Smoking (LoD) Sudden Stunning (DMG2) Spiked Chain, Circlet of Rapid Casting (MIC) with +6 Cha (MIC p234), Armbands of Might (MIC) with +6 Dex (MIC p234), Third Eye Clarity (MIC), Anklet of Translocation (MIC), Ring of Freedom of Movement, Ring of Evasion, Belt of Battle (MIC), Cloak of Resistance +5, Spell Component Pouch, clothing enchanted as magic armor: +1 Soulfire (BoED).

AC: 58 (+1 Armor, +10 Monk, +10 Dodge, +10 Profane, +10 Deflection, +7 Dex), Touch 57, Flat-Footed 41
Fort: +41 (+12 base, +4 Con, +10 Unearthly Grace, +10 Divine Grace, +5 Resistance)
Reflex: +46 (+14 base, +7 Dex, +10 Unearthly Grace, +10 Divine Grace, +5 Resistance)
Will: +41 (+14 base, +2 Wis, +10 Unearthly Grace, +10 Divine Grace, +5 Resistance)

BAB +10, grapple +11

Charge (double damage with a Valorous weapon), Dive Attack (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#fly) (updated for humanoid-shaped creatures (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/iw/20060105b&page=1), double damage with a piercing weapon), Power Attack for -10 AC and +22 damage (Shock Trooper, Armbands of Might), Divine Might for +10 damage. Optional: Dexterous Attack for -5 damage and +5 to hit, or -10 damage and +10 to hit.
Spiked Chain: +20 melee 6d4+102 (8d4+136 crit), or +25 melee 6d4+87 (8d4+116 crit), or +30 melee 6d4+72 (8d4+96 crit).
Same hit and damage values for attacks of opportunity until his next turn.

[Crake]

Monk, Fighter, and Blackguard levels are nonassociated (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/improvingMonsters.htm#advancedMonsterChallengeRati ng)

I would hardly say that monk and blackguard are "a class level that doesn’t directly play to a creature’s strength" when they directly synergise with charisma for the character, not only that, but doubling up (or in the case of AC and mystic wanderer and arcane duelist, quadrupling up) on cha to AC and saves. Fighter I can see though.

Still, cheesing the CR system doesn't seem the point of this exercise. An adult gold dragon can cast spells, if he's a spellhoarding loredrake, he'd have a CL of 9, able to cast 5th level spells, a greater invis followed by a few empowered ray of stupidities and that character is a flop. Hell, even just a simple flyby attack and just keep using it's breath weapon over and over. He doesn't have evasion, so high saves still means 50% damage, which will add up after a few flybys, and the dragon moves way faster than a gloura, so you wouldn't be able to keep up. What are you gonna do when you're in the dragon's lair and it casts evards black tentacles, no attack, no save vs your 11 grapple? Way too many flaws in that build to take on a real dragon.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

I would hardly say that monk and blackguard are "a class level that doesn’t directly play to a creature’s strength" when they directly synergise with charisma for the character, not only that, but doubling up (or in the case of AC and mystic wanderer and arcane duelist, quadrupling up) on cha to AC and saves. Fighter I can see though.

Still, cheesing the CR system doesn't seem the point of this exercise. An adult gold dragon can cast spells, if he's a spellhoarding loredrake, he'd have a CL of 9, able to cast 5th level spells, a greater invis followed by a few empowered ray of stupidities and that character is a flop. Hell, even just a simple flyby attack and just keep using it's breath weapon over and over. He doesn't have evasion, so high saves still means 50% damage, which will add up after a few flybys, and the dragon moves way faster than a gloura, so you wouldn't be able to keep up. What are you gonna do when you're in the dragon's lair and it casts evards black tentacles, no attack, no save vs your 11 grapple? Way too many flaws in that build to take on a real dragon.

See Invisibility (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/seeInvisibility.htm) is on the Bard spell list, he can cast it.
With a touch AC of 57, Ray of Stupidity will never hit him.
He has a Ring of Evasion and a Ring of Freedom of Movement listed in his gear.
He's guaranteed to hit the dragon's AC 30, and he hits for half its HP. The dragon can only try to outrun him, because it's never going to pose a threat to him.

[Crake]

See Invisibility (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/seeInvisibility.htm) is on the Bard spell list, he can cast it.
With a touch AC of 57, Ray of Stupidity will never hit him.
He has a Ring of Evasion and a Ring of Freedom of Movement listed in his gear.
He's guaranteed to hit the dragon's AC 30, and he hits for half its HP. The dragon can only try to outrun him, because it's never going to pose a threat to him.

See invis can be dispelled, or gotten around by casting ray of stupidity either from further than 120ft, or in the same round as invis. True strike + a dragon's bab lets it auto hit on anything but a 1 vs your 40 flat footed touch AC.

And a dragon with an entire horde of magic items and spellcasting is going to have an AC higher than 30, that's like saying humans have an AC of 10. Yeah, sure the average human, while standing around naked, will do.

[Jarmen4u]

Sorry I haven't replied sooner, I had an early night last night. There seems to be a bit of confusion. The concept is, this dragon is doing too much against the Fey, so they're going to send someone/something to kill it. It can be a character built with class levels, but it can also be a templated monster, if that would make it easier.

[Crake]

Sorry I haven't replied sooner, I had an early night last night. There seems to be a bit of confusion. The concept is, this dragon is doing too much against the Fey, so they're going to send someone/something to kill it. It can be a character built with class levels, but it can also be a templated monster, if that would make it easier.

Is the dragon statted out? If so, just engineer something that perfectly counters it. Hell, honestly, you don't even need to stat any of this out, do you? You're the DM, just say it happens?

[Jarmen4u]

Is the dragon statted out? If so, just engineer something that perfectly counters it. Hell, honestly, you don't even need to stat any of this out, do you? You're the DM, just say it happens?

I was hoping to have the players witness at least the end of the fight to see their friend die, partially for emotions, partially to give them a lead. I wanted to have at least rough stats in case they tried fighting it before it escapes.

[Crake]

I was hoping to have the players witness at least the end of the fight to see their friend die, partially for emotions, partially to give them a lead. I wanted to have at least rough stats in case they tried fighting it before it escapes.

Wait, who are the players rooting for? The dragon? What level are the players? If they aren't particularly high level, you could simply have the fight take place in the skies high above them so they have no real way to participate, but can clearly see when their dragon friend falls out of the sky. Having decent wizard of some kind, potentially with some few templates (half fey, feytouched and unseelie fey all spring to mind) or a fey race (killoren are the only ones that directly come to mind for that one, that aren't tiny pixies/faeries). Elves also tend to be associated with fey as well, so that could also work.

An adult gold dragon is CR16, so you'd want something on roughly that level, with the books stacked in their favour to make it seem reasonable. Something like a 15th level wizard who's studied the dragon, knows it's capabilities and weaknesses, and comes fully prepared to specifically take on that dragon in particular would probably turn out rather well. Also, if you want the players to witness the battle, nothing quite beats wizard vs dragon in a stormy aerial battle with breath weapons and spell effects flying left and right.

[Jarmen4u]

Wait, who are the players rooting for? The dragon? What level are the players? If they aren't particularly high level, you could simply have the fight take place in the skies high above them so they have no real way to participate, but can clearly see when their dragon friend falls out of the sky. Having decent wizard of some kind, potentially with some few templates (half fey, feytouched and unseelie fey all spring to mind) or a fey race (killoren are the only ones that directly come to mind for that one, that aren't tiny pixies/faeries). Elves also tend to be associated with fey as well, so that could also work.

An adult gold dragon is CR16, so you'd want something on roughly that level, with the books stacked in their favour to make it seem reasonable. Something like a 15th level wizard who's studied the dragon, knows it's capabilities and weaknesses, and comes fully prepared to specifically take on that dragon in particular would probably turn out rather well. Also, if you want the players to witness the battle, nothing quite beats wizard vs dragon in a stormy aerial battle with breath weapons and spell effects flying left and right.

The players are 7-9th level, and the dragon is helping them figure out who the big bad guy is. At this point, they don't know that it's Fey yet, so the idea is that seeing the enemy kill their friend and recognizing it as some kind of Fey would tip them off.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

See invis can be dispelled, or gotten around by casting ray of stupidity either from further than 120ft, or in the same round as invis. True strike + a dragon's bab lets it auto hit on anything but a 1 vs your 40 flat footed touch AC.

And a dragon with an entire horde of magic items and spellcasting is going to have an AC higher than 30, that's like saying humans have an AC of 10. Yeah, sure the average human, while standing around naked, will do.

Let's be realistic here, he's supposed to have killed an Adult Gold Dragon (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/dragonTrue.htm#goldDragon), not supposed to be able to automatically kill every adult gold dragon he comes across.

An adult gold dragon doesn't detect evil and doesn't see invisibility, and probably isn't even going to automatically attack anyone who's in its lair. It gets +31 to Sense Motive with max ranks.

The character I posted gets +31 to Bluff with max ranks, or +61 with Glibness, plus he can cast Invisibility, so chances are he's going to get a surprise round on it, even if it's already aware that he's present. He can charge, hit it for half its hp, and use the circlet of rapid casting to cast see invisibility. At that point what is the dragon even going to do? It can't move away because his AoO automatically hits and deals the other half of his hp in damage. It may know that his charge hits hard but his standing hits aren't very dangerous, so it may try to full attack him, but it automatically misses on all of its attacks. It can try to turn invisible, but he can still see it and it's no better off than what it was before. It could try to breathe on him or cast a spell or any number of other things, but at this point nothing will do it any good. Therefore, it's extremely plausible that he has in fact killed an adult gold dragon all by himself.

[marphod]

Why a single champion?

A pair of Spriggan Barb 9/Rogue 3 with a Nymph Druid 5 (CL 12; re-fluff to be unseelie) for fire support should be capable enough.

This lets you even have the dragon take out one or two of the attackers before it falls.

----

Although, with 9th level characters, you need them to be immobilized or otherwise unable to intervene. If they have access to fly, teleport , and long range spells, and the act isn't over, they could stop it.