Crow
2008-10-07, 01:47 AM
So here's the bad guy (pulled from ENworld):
Jormungandr, the Midgard Serpent
Colossal Dragon (Aquatic)
Hit Dice: 66d12+1,782 (2,211 hp)
Initiative: +8
Speed: 60 ft (12 squares), swim 60 ft
Armor Class: 90 (-8 size, +75 natural, +13 deflection), touch 15, flat-footed 90
Base Attack/Grapple: +66/+114
Attack: Bite +92 melee (8d6+32/19-20 plus poison) or slam +91 melee (4d8+32)
Full Attack: Bite +92 melee (8d6+32/19-20 plus poison) and slam +86 melee (4d8+16)
Space/Reach: 30 ft/30 ft (head only); 60 ft reach with slam
Special Attacks: Constrict 4d8+32, death throes, frightful presence, improved grab, poison
Special Qualities: Amphibious, blindsense 60 ft, cataclysmic motion, damage reduction 25/epic, darkvision 120 ft., fast healing 200, immunities, keen senses, regeneration 200, resistance to acid 20, electricity 20, fire 20, and sonic 20, spell resistance 66
Saves: Fort +62 Ref +37 Will +44
Abilities: Str 75, Dex 10, Con 65, Int 27, Wis 29, Cha 36
Skills: Balance +2, Bluff +82, Diplomacy +17, Gather Information +15, Intimidate +84, Knowledge (geography) +77, Knowledge (history) +77, Knowledge (local) +77, Knowledge (nature) +79, Knowledge (religion) +77, Listen +78, Search +77, Sense Motive +78, Spot +78, Survival +78 (+80 following tracks, +80 avoiding hazards, +80 aboveground), Swim +109, Tumble +69
Feats: Ability Focus (poison), Awesome Blow, Blind-Fight, Cleave, Combat Expertise, Great Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Critical (bite), Improved Feint, Improved Initiative, Improved Overrun, Improved Sunder, Lightning Reflexes, Power Attack, Snatch, Track, Weapon Focus (bite)
Epic Feats: Epic Prowess, Epic Sunder, Devastating Critical (bite), Legendary Tracker, Overwhelming Critical (bite), Superior Initiative
Environment: Any land and aquatic
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 45
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: None
Level Adjustment: ---
This serpent is so massively immense that it seems to go on for miles. Its thick body lies in huge coils as it stretches out across the expansive wilderness. Its massive serpentine head is somewhat draconic, though it dwarfs the entire bodies of even the largest of mortal great wyrms.
Jormungandr is the offspring of the mischievous god Loki and the giantess Angurboda, along with Hel and Fenris. He is also called the Midgard Serpent, or the World Serpent.
When Odin saw the monstrous progeny, he threw the snake into the sea when he was still young to keep him from causing trouble. Unfortunately, Jormungandr’s isolation allowed him to grow unchecked, until he eventually was long enough to circle the entire earth and bite his own tail.
Thor is the mortal enemy of the Midgard Serpent and has tried unsuccessfully to slay him many times. According to a prophecy by the Norns, Thor will not succeed in his task until the time of Ragnarok – although Jormungandr’s poison would slay Thor in the battle as well.
Jormungandr is easily tens of thousands of miles long, and his weight is incalculable to any but a god.
Jormungandr speaks Abyssal, Aquan, Common, Draconic, Giant, Undercommon, and likely a handful of other languages that he has learned over his long life.
COMBAT
Jormungandr prefers to be left alone. He hunts when he is hungry, but ignores most combatants, as most other beings cannot truly harm him. He only defends himself against more powerful opponents like Thor. By coiling up his mass, Jormungandr can make slam attacks against any creature within 60 feet of his body, at any point, and can grapple more than one target at a time.
Jormungandr rarely moves his entire body, but when he feels the need to his movements cause destruction on a grand scale. Jormungandr’s impossible length allows his to lift his head to any height, and thus never needs to make a Climb or Jump check to reach higher or lower altitudes. He can move over hills, crevasses, ravines, and other natural features in a similar manner, and since it is impossible for him to fall, he never suffers falling damage.
Jormungandr’s natural weapons are treated as epic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
An opponent can attack Jormungandr’s head with a sunder attempt as if it was a weapon. Jormungandr’s head has 400 hit points. If Jormungandr’s head is dealt enough lethal damage to destroy it in a single attack, he dies.
Constrict (Ex): Jormungandr deals automatic slam damage with a successful grapple check.
Death Throes (Ex): If Jormungandr dies from having his head sundered, his venom will seep out from his rapidly from his body, filling a 50-foot radius area around his head. All creatures in this area are subject to Jormungandr’s poison.
Frightful Presence (Ex): Jormungandr can unsettle foes with his mere presence. This ability takes effect automatically whenever Jormungandr attacks. Creatures within 360 feet of Jormungandr are subject to the effect if they have fewer HD than him.
A potentially affected creature that succeeds on a DC 56 Will save remains immune to Jormungandr’s frightful presence for 24 hours. On a failure, creatures become shaken for 4d6 rounds.
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, Jormungandr must hit with his slam attack. He can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If he wins the grapple check, he establishes a hold and can constrict.
Poison (Ex): Contact or injury, Fortitude DC 72, initial and secondary damage 3d6 Con. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Jormungandr’s poison is so deadly that all living creatures, even deities and creatures with an immunity to poison, must succeed on the saving throw or take the listed damage. Magical protections against poison of non-epic status are also ineffective against Jormungandr’s poison.
Amphibious (Ex): Although Jormungandr is aquatic, he can survive indefinitely on land.
Blindsense (Ex): Jormungandr can pinpoint creatures within a distance of 60 feet from his body. Opponents he can’t actually see still have total concealment against Jormungandr.
Cataclysmic Motion (Ex): Jormungandr can move from one place on surface of the planet to any other as a full-round action. To accomplish this, he steers his head in the proper direction, and simply plows through or over anything in his path, moving at incredible speed to reposition himself. His head will end in whatever area on the world’s surface he desires. He cannot circle the world more than once this way in a single round.
Due to Jormungandr’s incredible size, this movement leaves natural disasters in his wake, out to a mile away from his body. In cold land environments, his movements cause avalanches (see Mountain Terrain in the DMG). In warm or temperate lands, his movements create an earthquake (as the spell). When moving through aquatic environments, he creates massive waves (treat as the raise water function of the control water spell, with an area using a caster level equal to Jormungandr's Hit Dice). Jormungandr does not take any action to cause these effects, nor can he prevent them from happening.
Immunities (Ex): Jormungandr is immune to ability damage, ability drain, cold, death effects, disease, disintegration, energy drain, imprisonment, mind-affecting effects, paralysis, poison, polymorph, and sleep effects.
Keen Senses (Ex): Jormungandr sees four times as well as a human in shadowy illumination and twice as well in normal light. He also has darkvision out to 120 feet.
Regeneration (Ex): Good bludgeoning weapons deal normal damage to Jormungandr.
If any part of Jormungandr is severed from the rest of his body, it reattaches instantly if not completely separated from the body.
Skills: Jormungandr has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. He can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. He can use the run action while swimming, provided he swims in a straight line.
Originally found in first edition Deities and Demigods (1980, James M. Ward and Robert J. Kuntz).
So at ECL 45, using the SRD, with no divine ranks, can a melee character take this thing down? The best way would probably be to get off the sunder attack against it's head (400hp in a single hit), but I have no idea how to pull that kind of damage in one hit in D&D aside from Leap Attack or Hulking Hurler (which isn't in the SRD). Of course, I've never played at ECL 45 either.
Maybe Spirited Charge with a Lance atop a flying mount? Outside of Spirited Charge, is it possible?
Jormungandr, the Midgard Serpent
Colossal Dragon (Aquatic)
Hit Dice: 66d12+1,782 (2,211 hp)
Initiative: +8
Speed: 60 ft (12 squares), swim 60 ft
Armor Class: 90 (-8 size, +75 natural, +13 deflection), touch 15, flat-footed 90
Base Attack/Grapple: +66/+114
Attack: Bite +92 melee (8d6+32/19-20 plus poison) or slam +91 melee (4d8+32)
Full Attack: Bite +92 melee (8d6+32/19-20 plus poison) and slam +86 melee (4d8+16)
Space/Reach: 30 ft/30 ft (head only); 60 ft reach with slam
Special Attacks: Constrict 4d8+32, death throes, frightful presence, improved grab, poison
Special Qualities: Amphibious, blindsense 60 ft, cataclysmic motion, damage reduction 25/epic, darkvision 120 ft., fast healing 200, immunities, keen senses, regeneration 200, resistance to acid 20, electricity 20, fire 20, and sonic 20, spell resistance 66
Saves: Fort +62 Ref +37 Will +44
Abilities: Str 75, Dex 10, Con 65, Int 27, Wis 29, Cha 36
Skills: Balance +2, Bluff +82, Diplomacy +17, Gather Information +15, Intimidate +84, Knowledge (geography) +77, Knowledge (history) +77, Knowledge (local) +77, Knowledge (nature) +79, Knowledge (religion) +77, Listen +78, Search +77, Sense Motive +78, Spot +78, Survival +78 (+80 following tracks, +80 avoiding hazards, +80 aboveground), Swim +109, Tumble +69
Feats: Ability Focus (poison), Awesome Blow, Blind-Fight, Cleave, Combat Expertise, Great Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Critical (bite), Improved Feint, Improved Initiative, Improved Overrun, Improved Sunder, Lightning Reflexes, Power Attack, Snatch, Track, Weapon Focus (bite)
Epic Feats: Epic Prowess, Epic Sunder, Devastating Critical (bite), Legendary Tracker, Overwhelming Critical (bite), Superior Initiative
Environment: Any land and aquatic
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 45
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: None
Level Adjustment: ---
This serpent is so massively immense that it seems to go on for miles. Its thick body lies in huge coils as it stretches out across the expansive wilderness. Its massive serpentine head is somewhat draconic, though it dwarfs the entire bodies of even the largest of mortal great wyrms.
Jormungandr is the offspring of the mischievous god Loki and the giantess Angurboda, along with Hel and Fenris. He is also called the Midgard Serpent, or the World Serpent.
When Odin saw the monstrous progeny, he threw the snake into the sea when he was still young to keep him from causing trouble. Unfortunately, Jormungandr’s isolation allowed him to grow unchecked, until he eventually was long enough to circle the entire earth and bite his own tail.
Thor is the mortal enemy of the Midgard Serpent and has tried unsuccessfully to slay him many times. According to a prophecy by the Norns, Thor will not succeed in his task until the time of Ragnarok – although Jormungandr’s poison would slay Thor in the battle as well.
Jormungandr is easily tens of thousands of miles long, and his weight is incalculable to any but a god.
Jormungandr speaks Abyssal, Aquan, Common, Draconic, Giant, Undercommon, and likely a handful of other languages that he has learned over his long life.
COMBAT
Jormungandr prefers to be left alone. He hunts when he is hungry, but ignores most combatants, as most other beings cannot truly harm him. He only defends himself against more powerful opponents like Thor. By coiling up his mass, Jormungandr can make slam attacks against any creature within 60 feet of his body, at any point, and can grapple more than one target at a time.
Jormungandr rarely moves his entire body, but when he feels the need to his movements cause destruction on a grand scale. Jormungandr’s impossible length allows his to lift his head to any height, and thus never needs to make a Climb or Jump check to reach higher or lower altitudes. He can move over hills, crevasses, ravines, and other natural features in a similar manner, and since it is impossible for him to fall, he never suffers falling damage.
Jormungandr’s natural weapons are treated as epic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
An opponent can attack Jormungandr’s head with a sunder attempt as if it was a weapon. Jormungandr’s head has 400 hit points. If Jormungandr’s head is dealt enough lethal damage to destroy it in a single attack, he dies.
Constrict (Ex): Jormungandr deals automatic slam damage with a successful grapple check.
Death Throes (Ex): If Jormungandr dies from having his head sundered, his venom will seep out from his rapidly from his body, filling a 50-foot radius area around his head. All creatures in this area are subject to Jormungandr’s poison.
Frightful Presence (Ex): Jormungandr can unsettle foes with his mere presence. This ability takes effect automatically whenever Jormungandr attacks. Creatures within 360 feet of Jormungandr are subject to the effect if they have fewer HD than him.
A potentially affected creature that succeeds on a DC 56 Will save remains immune to Jormungandr’s frightful presence for 24 hours. On a failure, creatures become shaken for 4d6 rounds.
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, Jormungandr must hit with his slam attack. He can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If he wins the grapple check, he establishes a hold and can constrict.
Poison (Ex): Contact or injury, Fortitude DC 72, initial and secondary damage 3d6 Con. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Jormungandr’s poison is so deadly that all living creatures, even deities and creatures with an immunity to poison, must succeed on the saving throw or take the listed damage. Magical protections against poison of non-epic status are also ineffective against Jormungandr’s poison.
Amphibious (Ex): Although Jormungandr is aquatic, he can survive indefinitely on land.
Blindsense (Ex): Jormungandr can pinpoint creatures within a distance of 60 feet from his body. Opponents he can’t actually see still have total concealment against Jormungandr.
Cataclysmic Motion (Ex): Jormungandr can move from one place on surface of the planet to any other as a full-round action. To accomplish this, he steers his head in the proper direction, and simply plows through or over anything in his path, moving at incredible speed to reposition himself. His head will end in whatever area on the world’s surface he desires. He cannot circle the world more than once this way in a single round.
Due to Jormungandr’s incredible size, this movement leaves natural disasters in his wake, out to a mile away from his body. In cold land environments, his movements cause avalanches (see Mountain Terrain in the DMG). In warm or temperate lands, his movements create an earthquake (as the spell). When moving through aquatic environments, he creates massive waves (treat as the raise water function of the control water spell, with an area using a caster level equal to Jormungandr's Hit Dice). Jormungandr does not take any action to cause these effects, nor can he prevent them from happening.
Immunities (Ex): Jormungandr is immune to ability damage, ability drain, cold, death effects, disease, disintegration, energy drain, imprisonment, mind-affecting effects, paralysis, poison, polymorph, and sleep effects.
Keen Senses (Ex): Jormungandr sees four times as well as a human in shadowy illumination and twice as well in normal light. He also has darkvision out to 120 feet.
Regeneration (Ex): Good bludgeoning weapons deal normal damage to Jormungandr.
If any part of Jormungandr is severed from the rest of his body, it reattaches instantly if not completely separated from the body.
Skills: Jormungandr has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. He can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. He can use the run action while swimming, provided he swims in a straight line.
Originally found in first edition Deities and Demigods (1980, James M. Ward and Robert J. Kuntz).
So at ECL 45, using the SRD, with no divine ranks, can a melee character take this thing down? The best way would probably be to get off the sunder attack against it's head (400hp in a single hit), but I have no idea how to pull that kind of damage in one hit in D&D aside from Leap Attack or Hulking Hurler (which isn't in the SRD). Of course, I've never played at ECL 45 either.
Maybe Spirited Charge with a Lance atop a flying mount? Outside of Spirited Charge, is it possible?