Author Topic: Simple Q&A 29: The CR 5 Gargantuan Dragon of DOOM  (Read 131832 times)

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kevin_video

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Re: Simple Q&A 29: The CR 5 Gargantuan Dragon of DOOM
« Reply #520 on: October 25, 2011, 05:08:04 PM »
A154 Wand of True Strike.
True Strike only lasts for one round, and it takes a round to cast it (not literally), so he'd only fire once per two rounds. He'd also have to make his UMD check.
What level is he?

5th level Warlock with Cha 14 = 8 Ranks + 2 Cha + take 10 on UMD = 20 = auto-activate wands.

Also, look into the spell "Targeting ray" from the spell compendium.  I don't remember specifics, but it might help him if either the party wizard, or he (from a wand), were to cast it.
He just hit 6 HD. He's got 20 CHA and 14 DEX. We have a wizard, but he's only 2nd level. Doing the fighter/wizard/PrC thing, and he's not taking any ranged spells. Just buffs.

But again, I bring up that the wand can only be used once every other round, which means his blast can only be used once every other round. Was hoping for something a little more frequent.

Wand of reduce person and wand of cat's grace?  At minimum possible caster levels, RP lasts 1 minute and CG lasts 3 minutes.  If you know a fight's coming you can prebuff with them easily enough, and receive a net gain on ranged touch attack rolls of +4 (+1 size, +3 Dex).
That's right. Spells and blasts don't minimize when you do like bows or swords.
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ksbsnowowl

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Re: Simple Q&A 29: The CR 5 Gargantuan Dragon of DOOM
« Reply #521 on: October 25, 2011, 05:11:06 PM »
But again, I bring up that the wand can only be used once every other round, which means his blast can only be used once every other round. Was hoping for something a little more frequent.
You didn't take my advice and look up the spell, did you?  :P

Quote
TARGETING RAY
Divination
Level: Bard 1, sorcerer/wizard 1
Components: V, S, F
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Effect: Ray
Duration: 1 round/level
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No

The ray acts as a rangefinder for you and any allies. You must succeed on a ranged touch attack with the ray to strike a target. It provides a +1 insight bonus per three caster levels on ranged attacks directed at the subject for the duration of the spell....
Granted, it would be better if the party had a dedicated wizard, but even a 3rd caster level wand wouldn't be too terribly priced, and would get you 3 rounds of fun.

Where is the party cleric laying down the Bless (+1 moral bonus) and Prayer (+1 luck bonus) for your party?

Those three spells together will give everyone in the party a +2 to melee attacks, +3 to ranged attacks, as well as +1 to weapon damage, saves (+2 vs fear), and skills, and inflict a -1 to all the above against your allies.
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kevin_video

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Re: Simple Q&A 29: The CR 5 Gargantuan Dragon of DOOM
« Reply #522 on: October 25, 2011, 05:24:27 PM »
But again, I bring up that the wand can only be used once every other round, which means his blast can only be used once every other round. Was hoping for something a little more frequent.
You didn't take my advice and look up the spell, did you?  :P
I had been referring to True Strike.
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ksbsnowowl

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Re: Simple Q&A 29: The CR 5 Gargantuan Dragon of DOOM
« Reply #523 on: October 25, 2011, 05:45:32 PM »
But again, I bring up that the wand can only be used once every other round, which means his blast can only be used once every other round. Was hoping for something a little more frequent.
You didn't take my advice and look up the spell, did you?  :P
I had been referring to True Strike.
Party no longer has a cleric. School's taken over his life. All they have left is a multi-classing paladin of freedom/fighter.
Ouch, so a diluted Paladin is their only divine caster, a diluted Wizard is their only arcane caster, plus a Warlock (and whatever else is represented)?

Well, could the Paladin at least lay down some Blesses?

Sometimes you have to cringe at a party's make-up...
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kevin_video

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Re: Simple Q&A 29: The CR 5 Gargantuan Dragon of DOOM
« Reply #524 on: October 25, 2011, 05:55:48 PM »
Ouch, so a diluted Paladin is their only divine caster, a diluted Wizard is their only arcane caster, plus a Warlock (and whatever else is represented)?

Well, could the Paladin at least lay down some Blesses?

Sometimes you have to cringe at a party's make-up...
Not yet he can't, no. Even if he could, that'd prevent him from shooting things. This is his first time playing a support character, and he's not doing that great a job at it. He's still playing his character like he would all his other front line fighter ones.
We have a human Kord god-blooded/air half-elemental fighter, a half-giant soulknife, a half-elf prodigy archery ranger/wizard/arcane archer, an aasimar ranged paladin/fighter, a draconic human warlock, and a halfling ranged rogue/fighter with a medium viper wild cohort.
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Re: Simple Q&A 29: The CR 5 Gargantuan Dragon of DOOM
« Reply #525 on: October 25, 2011, 07:37:04 PM »
Make the enemies flat-footed. That should help against at least some.
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Arturick

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Re: Simple Q&A 29: The CR 5 Gargantuan Dragon of DOOM
« Reply #526 on: October 25, 2011, 07:45:09 PM »
Q 171

I'm planning on casting Enlarge Person on a Barbarian, thus enlarging her AND her equipment.  I then am going to Polymorph the Barbarian into an Annis Hag.  Since the gear is now Large sized, I think it should stay on the Barbarian.  With Gauntlets of Ogre Power +2, this should create a raging Annis Hag with a 31 STR.

Anyone see a problem with this?  (i.e. Polymorph cancelling enlarge, or some wonky Polymorph rule I'm missing...)

ksbsnowowl

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Re: Simple Q&A 29: The CR 5 Gargantuan Dragon of DOOM
« Reply #527 on: October 25, 2011, 09:27:16 PM »
Q 172:  I've got a BBEG creature that I want to fly with a faster speed (Red Abishai, fly 50 [poor]).  Are there any templates I can give it to make it faster?  Maneuverability isn't really the issue.
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sirpercival

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Re: Simple Q&A 29: The CR 5 Gargantuan Dragon of DOOM
« Reply #528 on: October 25, 2011, 09:41:53 PM »
Q 172:  I've got a BBEG creature that I want to fly with a faster speed (Red Abishai, fly 50 [poor]).  Are there any templates I can give it to make it faster?  Maneuverability isn't really the issue.

A172 Shadow creature, LoM.  x1.5 to all movement rates.
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weenog

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Re: Simple Q&A 29: The CR 5 Gargantuan Dragon of DOOM
« Reply #529 on: October 25, 2011, 10:31:37 PM »
Q 172:  I've got a BBEG creature that I want to fly with a faster speed (Red Abishai, fly 50 [poor]).  Are there any templates I can give it to make it faster?  Maneuverability isn't really the issue.

You might look into the Air Heritage and Improved Flight feats, as well as Improved Speed if you can get it the dragon type.
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behaigo

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Re: Simple Q&A 29: The CR 5 Gargantuan Dragon of DOOM
« Reply #530 on: October 26, 2011, 01:34:41 AM »
Q 173:  Does defending oneself require concentration?
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weenog

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Re: Simple Q&A 29: The CR 5 Gargantuan Dragon of DOOM
« Reply #531 on: October 26, 2011, 02:09:52 AM »
Q 173:  Does defending oneself require concentration?

No, and tell whoever came up with that nonsense to stop picking on the barbarian.  Beatsticks have enough woes as it is.
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ksbsnowowl

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Re: Simple Q&A 29: The CR 5 Gargantuan Dragon of DOOM
« Reply #532 on: October 26, 2011, 02:17:28 AM »
Q 172:  I've got a BBEG creature that I want to fly with a faster speed (Red Abishai, fly 50 [poor]).  Are there any templates I can give it to make it faster?  Maneuverability isn't really the issue.

You might look into the Air Heritage and Improved Flight feats, as well as Improved Speed if you can get it the dragon type.
It very specifically will not be a dragon, but where are the other two feats?  Savage Species?

A172 Shadow creature, LoM.  x1.5 to all movement rates.
That might work.  I've used Shadow Creature in the past, and (in my campaign) it is usually associated with the Unseelie Court.  Last time they faced something it was a Shadow Creature Troll that had been touched (blessed) by the Dark Queen, and transformed into a Shadow Creature.  It's possible this Abishai has done the same...  Thanks for the suggestion.
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weenog

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Re: Simple Q&A 29: The CR 5 Gargantuan Dragon of DOOM
« Reply #533 on: October 26, 2011, 02:26:04 AM »
Q 172:  I've got a BBEG creature that I want to fly with a faster speed (Red Abishai, fly 50 [poor]).  Are there any templates I can give it to make it faster?  Maneuverability isn't really the issue.

You might look into the Air Heritage and Improved Flight feats, as well as Improved Speed if you can get it the dragon type.
It very specifically will not be a dragon, but where are the other two feats?  Savage Species?

Air Heritage
Improved Flight

Throw in a pectoral of maneuverability or the greater version (Draconomicon page 83) and you'll have a fairly good flier.  You say maneuverability isn't really the issue, but keep in mind that creatures who suck at flying eat up distance making turns and such.
« Last Edit: October 26, 2011, 02:27:47 AM by weenog »
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ksbsnowowl

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Re: Simple Q&A 29: The CR 5 Gargantuan Dragon of DOOM
« Reply #534 on: October 26, 2011, 03:26:27 AM »
Q 174: A Shadow Creature gains total concealment in everything except full sunlight.

Quote from: SRD
Total Concealment
If you have line of effect to a target but not line of sight he is considered to have total concealment from you. A successful attack into a square occupied by an enemy with total concealment has a 50% miss chance (instead of the normal 20% miss chance for an opponent with concealment).

So... Is a Shadow Creature effectively 'invisible' (to a lesser extent) in anything but full daylight?

I always assumed such an ability merely conferred a 50% miss chance, but otherwise foes could identify your position just fine.

Quote from: SRD
Concealment and Hide Checks
You can use concealment to make a Hide check. Without concealment, you usually need cover to make a Hide check.
This part makes me think that essentially a Shadow Creature gets a free hide check every round (modified by his speed and if he attacked [-5/-20]) and the PC's have to make opposed spot checks (on their turn) to notice which square he's in, and then they would still get a 50% miss chance.

Am I reading that right?  Seems pretty tough for a +1 CR increase.  But, the Red Abishai's Hide modifier is a +3 (it has no ranks), and any round he attacks he'll take a -20, so the PC's should locate him just fine, so long as he's attacking.  The problem lies in when he flies away for a few rounds, double moving at half speed so he takes no negatives.  He'll be quite hard to spot, and his regeneration can do its work.

Damn, that's way nastier than I thought it was.

Now what two special abilities to give him?

Fast Healing 2 on top of his Regeneration 5 (with an odd negation type - good/holy weapons, and spells of the [good] descriptor) is just EVIL.  Especially since I don't think any of my PC's have any such abilities (spells with the [good] descriptor, or good-aligned weapons - no cleric).

Evasion? +2 luck bonus to all saves?  The ability to plane shift to the plane of shadow? (ie - a quick escape?)

Q 175: Are swarms immune to crits, and can they be flanked?
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zook1shoe

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Re: Simple Q&A 29: The CR 5 Gargantuan Dragon of DOOM
« Reply #535 on: October 26, 2011, 03:48:05 AM »
A175 no, this is in the swarm subtype info

Edit: make sure you guys are looking at the Lords of Madness Shadow template, not the Manual of the Planes one
« Last Edit: October 26, 2011, 03:49:43 AM by zook1shoe »

kevin_video

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Re: Simple Q&A 29: The CR 5 Gargantuan Dragon of DOOM
« Reply #536 on: October 26, 2011, 03:50:31 AM »
Q 175: Are swarms immune to crits, and can they be flanked?
Already been answered, but I'll quote it.
A 175
Quote
A swarm has no clear front or back and no discernible anatomy, so it is not subject to critical hits or flanking.
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kevin_video

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Re: Simple Q&A 29: The CR 5 Gargantuan Dragon of DOOM
« Reply #537 on: October 26, 2011, 04:19:36 AM »
Q 176 Other than the six-armed spellweavers, do any other multi-armed creature gain any particular benefit for multiple appendages?

Q 177 Is there a maximum number of arms a creature is allowed to have? I can think of two templates that could add another six arms to a spellweaver.
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Re: Simple Q&A 29: The CR 5 Gargantuan Dragon of DOOM
« Reply #538 on: October 26, 2011, 04:21:16 AM »
Q 178: The city-shape

ksbsnowowl

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Re: Simple Q&A 29: The CR 5 Gargantuan Dragon of DOOM
« Reply #539 on: October 26, 2011, 05:03:13 AM »
Q 175: Are swarms immune to crits, and can they be flanked?
Already been answered, but I'll quote it.
A 175
Quote
A swarm has no clear front or back and no discernible anatomy, so it is not subject to critical hits or flanking.
Thanks; my DM couldn't find it during our game tonight.
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