Can a level 10 party handle two Orthons?

[Ganymede]

Orthons are stealthy brutes that are potent both in melee and at range. They are devils featured in Mordenkainen's.

Would an average level 10 party be able to contend with a pair of Orthons that engage with classic sniper-spotter tactics (both covering one another with their ranged attacks at a distance)?

[Unoriginal]

What is the environment, and what's the distance between the two devils?

[Bloodcloud]

We need more info on the party and its build. Average can mean a lot of things...

[Ganymede]

What is the environment, and what's the distance between the two devils?

This is in the Shadowfell, so I'll assume there is sparse cover sprinkled about (small boulders, large tree stumps, etc.); maybe there would be the hollowed out husk of a cottage or something like that. I'll also assume that the two Orthons are within their crossbows' short range, so 80' to 100'.

I'm aiming for a fun, memorable encounter that'll tax one third to one half of the party's resources.


We need more info on the party and its build. Average can mean a lot of things...

Unfortunately, I won't be able to provide that. This is meant to be a set-piece style encounter for an adventure or module, so it can't be tailored to a particular party.

[Yora]

Then try it out and see how well it goes during playtests.

[Malifice]

Im going t be running one in my ToA campaign.

In the jungle.

They're tusked creatures, with an invisibility field, a ranged attack and a deadly melee attack who hunt prey and explode when they die.

Yeah. They're the Predator.

This one is hunting a small elite team, who have been inserted into the jungle to..

I'm doing the Predator.

[MaxWilson]

Orthons are stealthy brutes that are potent both in melee and at range. They are devils featured in Mordenkainen's.

Would an average level 10 party be able to contend with a pair of Orthons that engage with classic sniper-spotter tactics (both covering one another with their ranged attacks at a distance)?

By "would they be able to handle," do you mean guaranteed win or possibility of not TPKing or something in between? Who's the aggressor? Orthons only have AC 17 and 105 HP so even with their invisibility field it shouldn't be hard to take one of them down to the point where it has to flee or die--will it do that or fight to the death? If it flees, will it and its partner shadow the Pcs and attack at an opportune moment, at night or when the PCs are already fighting something?

Orthons are fairly weak in direct combat, and if they fight to the death in a straight-up fight, a tenth level party can beat them. If they instead land tracking crossbow bolts and then turn invisible and Hide next round with their Stealth +11, and then when the party is fighting a tough enemy the Orthon paralyzes a front liner with a crossbow bolt and then vanishes again... The PCs will grow to HATE that Orthon. And then it turns out that there are two of them. I love it.

So yes, they could handle two of them in direct combat, but that's not the best way to use them.

[Ganymede]

By "would they be able to handle," do you mean guaranteed win or possibility of not TPKing or something in between? Who's the aggressor? fight to the death? If it flees, will it and its partner shadow the Pcs and attack at an opportune moment, at night or when the PCs are already fighting something?


I'm hoping for an encounter that consumes up to half of the party's resources. It will definitely be an ambush scenario where the Orthons initiate combat at range. When one dies, the remaining one will try to flee and come back as a complication in a future encounter.