CoI |
My players are about to go up against the big bad head of a ninja guild. I've got him figured out, but I need help with his bodyguard. I've got him as a flowing monk/sorcerer but need some help tweaking him. I've given him a ki intensifying double chained kama for reach, some anchoring shurikins to keep people in place, combat reflexes to take advantage of AoOs, and agile maneuvers to help control the battlefield. He's lvl 6. Any suggestions? So far nothing's set in stone though. They'll have also just fought a lvl 7 ninja/fighter so I'm hoping to have them low on resources, and Hp.
SmiloDan RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32 |
Maybe monk/Life oracles or clerics? They can block attacks, use life link, heal, possibly counterspell, disarm and trip and anchor PCs, etc. Or maybe just a fighter/monk for more feats and BAB & CMB.
It seems to me the purpose of the bodyguard is to make the fight last longer and be more epic. Its purpose is to hinder the PCs, make them waste time and resources, and give the guildmaster an opportunity to really shine and have enough time to use all his cool powers.
Right?
Also, just some regular guards with polearms can help draw out the battle too. For whatever reason, lots of players hate provoking AoOs, but they're fine stepping into the middle of a bunch of mooks. You can position the guards to make "paths of "safety"" that you then fill with traps and hazards, or at least get you to position the PCs where you want them to be.
CoI |
No room for more mooks, it's taking place in his office. And with that reach and ability to use ki to trip\disarm\reposition\bull rush with a regular attack I figured he'd be an absolute pain, and once they're denied dex due to being tripped the boss can get sneak attacks in left right and centre. And when they're anchored by the shurikins they're easy pickings. Plus with flowing monk's ability to aoo if bbeg is hit by an attack they get immediately tripped\repositioned ect
SmiloDan RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32 |
In my experience, you don't need NPCs (especially 1-encounter NPCs) to have lots of different abilities or actions. They just have to be really good a few things.
How big is the room going to be? What dimensions? What else besides the 4 walls and floor is going to make up the room? A desk? Some chairs? A couch? A chest or cabinets?
I think a desk with a big sheet of parchment on it could be fun. Someone could jump on top of it and get the standard +1 to hit for being on higher ground. Then, someone else could pull that big sheet of parchment out from under them, making a trip attempt with some kind of bonus. As an added benefit, that piece of parchment might be a treasure map, schematics, a coded message or key for other coded messages, a list of VIPs or other secrets, or just a valuable painting.
Maybe there is a bearskin rug in there too, that can also be used as a mass trip platform. Or it might animate it as an object or undead.
What will the BBEG be? How will he fight in the battle? What are his escape plans? Secret doors? Traps? Spells? Magic items? Mundane items like caltrops or marbles?
I think the gestalt bodyguard should be a monk//fighter (maybe Lore Warden?) 6. The +6 BAB means you would qualify for a lot of those Greater combat maneuver feats, so your CMB would be +10 + ability modifiers, etc. You could also afford to take Dodge and Toughness and maybe Iron Will or the like to boost defenses. Also, the Bodyguard and In Harm's Way feats might be useful too.
CoI |
The bodyguard will be waiting for them meditating on a ki mat in front of his bosses desk and invisibly having already buffed himself and his charge. They will know the party is coming due to the alarm spell that's going. The room is 15ft square with bookcases lining the walls. Desk is large, approximately 5x10 and the leader will attempt to parley. Once combat begins he'll activate 2 items giving him and his bodyguard haste and prayer. They're pretty much potions, but in slap patch form. He's prepared them already so he merely has to drop his hands to the desk to use them, then he'll shoot the party from behind the desk with his pistol, but otherwise won't get involved unless necessary. He's got people for that after all (he's an arrogant t+~$) he's also go an item that will automatically cast both heal and teleporting self if he drops below 0 Hp. Party has info telling them he's never without a shinobi bodyguard, which means npc should have some spellcasting ability. I was originally going with sorcerer/monk or ninja, but have been thinking about a magus/monk. Houserules have it so maneuvers don't provoke unless you fail, so he's going to use his agile maneuvers to trip using his reach weapon so they're denied dex and boss can sneak attack them at range. I've given him bodyguard already, but might look at in harms way, thanks. Shield other has been cast so bodyguard will take half the damage they manage to get through to the boss. Anything you can think of to make this a bit nastier on the players?
SmiloDan RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32 |
What is the BBEG ninja boss? What he going to do?
A 15 by 15 room for how many characters? 2 NPCs and at least 3 PCs? That's pretty crowded. Especially for an NPC with a reach weapon and an NPC relying on a ranged weapon.
I would presume that at least part of the BBEG fight will take place in the room preceding it (the fighter//ninja room?). What is its layout? Are you prepared for a bottleneck situation? Am I right in assuming there is a 5 foot wide doorway leading into the boss's office? Is it directly from the preceding room, or is there a hallway leading to it?
SmiloDan RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32 |
CoI |
I'm prepared for a bottleneck, the monk has shurikins that also lock enemies in place like an immovable rod, and will attempt to keep them at a distance, trying to pick them off as they come in one by one. 25 square is doable. 5 players. In the room before they had to deal with the head enforcer who was a ninja/fighter and it's a 5ft doorway, no hallway. But anti-paladin monk could work... His office will also be in darkness, but the players have potions of darkvision already quaffed.
SmiloDan RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32 |
25 by 25 is a lot more room. I've had fun encounters in cramped spaces, but it sounds like you want room to move around a bit for this one. Tripping, pulling, pushing, repositioning, flanking, etc. AoOs with a reach weapon, stuff like that! :-D
(In d20 Modern, 3 unarmed and tied up PCs vs 3 gun-wielding PCs (well 2 gunwielders and a pilot) in a private plane that was 5 feet by 35 or 40 feet. Almost literally no room to maneuver, AoOs like crazy, and not enough parachutes. And the badguys got away! We HATED those guys!!!!!)
Weirdo |
Monks use their level instead of their BAB to CMB, and Empyreal sorcerer works quite nicely with that.
Room definitely sounds crowded, though the double chained kama can be used to attack adjacent squares so he's less likely to get boxed in and the desk should provide cover to the boss (and thus prevent AoO if he shoots when adjacent to a PC).
CoI |
That was kind of my plan. Bottleneck them in the doorway, and anyone who gets through is within reach. Use re-position/trip if they're too close to his charge (although he'll likely be tripping them anyways) and use his shurikens to lock them in place. I thought the close quarters would probably work in the Drow's favor rather than the other way around. especially if I drop a flaming sphere in the doorway and use the anchoring shurikens to lock the first or second person in place who attempts to jump over it. So far I've given him weapon finesse, combat reflexes, bodyguard, antangonize (might trade for in harms way) and agile maneuvers. What do you think?
SmiloDan RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32 |
CoI |
boss will have a wand of cure moderate wounds, with the reach metamagic on it to make it close range, and he'll have quaffed a potion of infernal healing. He's also got several other long term buffs like owls wisdom, shield, mage armour ect. Also shield other, so Monk will be taking half the damage that manages to get through to his charge.
SmiloDan RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32 |
SmiloDan RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32 |
Weirdo |
That was kind of my plan. Bottleneck them in the doorway, and anyone who gets through is within reach. Use re-position/trip if they're too close to his charge (although he'll likely be tripping them anyways) and use his shurikens to lock them in place. I thought the close quarters would probably work in the Drow's favor rather than the other way around. especially if I drop a flaming sphere in the doorway and use the anchoring shurikens to lock the first or second person in place who attempts to jump over it. So far I've given him weapon finesse, combat reflexes, bodyguard, antangonize (might trade for in harms way) and agile maneuvers. What do you think?
Skip In Harm's Way and Antagonize, they're mostly redundant with Shield Other. Also you've got enough interrupt actions to keep track of.
Skip Agile Maneuvers. The kama has the trip property, so you can use weapon modifiers - including Weapon Finesse - to make both trip and reposition maneuvers. (Source)
Try Ki Throw. It's a level 6 bonus feat for the Flowing Monk and adds some reposition to your trips.
Between Bodyguard, tripping, and reach, I feel like he's going to run out of AoO. That's good action economy, but it also means that getting more AoO should be a priority. How high is his Dex?
Also, at just +2 to AC Bodyguard is not that great. Is the bodyguard a Helpful Halfling? Do you have room in the budget for Benevolent Bracers of Armour?
CoI |
He's got a very high dex. +5 or +6 iirc. Don't have his stats in front of me atm. And I don't think benevolent braces of armour would work, they're a wondrous item and it's an armour ability. And I've loaded him up with way more magic items than I probably should have. I have story reasons of course, but too much more and I'll have problems. Either he'll be too tough and tpk, or they're going to get so much wealth from this adventure I'd have to avoid giving them anything for a few lvls just to come close to being near the wealth by lvl mark.
But he's a drow, not halfling. And no way to get a quickened channel energy. Really wishing I'd made the boss a vitalist atm. But that's just not in his nature. Are there any feats that increase the aid another bonuses?
Weirdo |
Right, you mentioned drow. There is the non-halfling version of the Helpful trait, but that only increases your aid another bonus to +3, not +4.
There are a pair of teamwork feats that could help (Exceptional Aid and Harrying Partners, but because each of them has a pre-requisite that's two feats for both the bodyguard and the boss - probably not worth it (and you don't have the BAB for Harrying Partners). If the boss has some variant of the Tactician ability it's worth considering.
You can add armour special abilities to Bracers of Armour as long as they have a bonus equivalent rather than a flat cost, and Benevolent qualifies. However I understand if it's too much wealth.
Also, what buffs did you have in mind from the sorc part of the gestalt? It occurs to me that Long Arm and Line in the Sand might both be useful, though their shorter duration (especially for Line in the Sand) might make them difficult to pull off.
SmiloDan RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32 |
That happened to me the other month. They talked their way out of TWO big set piece fights.
One is probably recyclable, but the other was really really setting specific.
It was set up in the Ice Queen's throne room. The ice queen was a highly altered medusa who froze creatures instead of petrifying them. The bearskin rug that covered her throne was a rug of smothering under her command. There were ice mephitis hidden around the chamber. Merrow were swimming under the icy floor and were going to break through, throw harpoons, and drag the PCs into the icy watery depths. The ice mephitis were altered to cast grease to make the dragging easier. It was going to be epic.
SmiloDan RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32 |