Korvosa Royal Guard - these are men at arms defending the palace and royal family, and are tougher than most of the regular street guards from whom they are drawn.
Korvosa Royal Guard Level 8 Controller
Medium natural humanoid (human) XP 350
HP 87; Bloodied 43
AC 23; Fortitude 20; Reflex 19; Will 19
Speed 5 Initiative +7
Perception +5
Standard Actions
m Glaive (weapon) • At-Will
Attack: Reach 2; +13 vs. AC
Hit: 2d8 + 7 damage, and the guard can shift 1 square.
M Powerful Strike (weapon) • Recharge 5 6
Attack: Reach 2; +13 vs. AC
Hit: 3d8 + 7 damage, a S or M target is knocked prone, and the guard can shift 1 square.
R Crossbow (weapon) • At-Will
Attack: Ranged 15/30; +11 vs. AC
Hit: 1d8 + 7 damage.
Skills Streetwise +11, Athletics +13, Intimidate +11
Str 19 (+8) Dex 16 (+7) Wis 12 (+5)
Con 15 (+6) Int 12 (+5) Cha 14 (+6)
Alignment any Languages Common
Equipment plate armor, glaive, crossbow, crossbow bolts (20)
Here's a Book 1 Ileosa as a level 6 Elite, although at this time she will avoid combat if at all possible, other than a 'scornful gaze' at Blackjack in the cutscene. >:)
Queen Ileosa Arabesti (level 6) Level 6 Elite Skirmisher
Medium natural humanoid (human) XP 500
HP 140; Bloodied 70
AC 20; Fortitude 18; Reflex 18; Will 19
Speed 6
Saving Throws +2; Action Points 1
Initiative +7
Perception +2
Traits
"This is my Right!"
Ileosa does not provoke opportunity attacks.
"My mind is clear!"
Ileosa cannot be Dazed, Stunned or Dominated.
Standard Actions
m Scepter of Rulership (weapon) • At-Will
Attack: +11 vs. AC
Hit: 1d8 + 10 damage (crit 20 5d8+18).
M "Thus Perish All Who Oppose My Cause!" • Recharge 5 6
Effect: Ileosa shifts 2 squares and makes one scepter attack against each enemy she moves adjacent to.
Minor Actions
r Eye of Scorn • At-Will
Attack: 10; +9 vs. Will; Psychic Damage
Hit: 1d10 + 6 "Ileosa glares angrily at you!".
Aftereffect: The target is Dazed (save ends).
Special: May be used once per Turn. Targets reduced to 0 hp are Unconscious but not Dying.
Skills Bluff +12, Diplomacy +12, Insight +7, Intimidate +12
Str 8 (+2) Dex 14 (+5) Wis 9 (+2)
Con 14 (+5) Int 13 (+4) Cha 18 (+7)
Alignment evil Languages Common
Equipment scepter (+5 mace)
Those are some good ideas for the queen. Thanks for sharing.
Hmm, the links no longer work for me. Any way you can re-post or upload the conversions Scott? I have been running this adventure path for my group and we start A History of Ashes Saturday. It would be great to get some ideas other than my own on how to convert this to 4E. I love the adventure content and my players are having a blast by the way.
Thanks Llacheu! :)
I took a few hours and did a document that compiles much of Scott's conversion from his blog and tried uploading it to the first file storage site I found on Google. Try http://filestor.com.sg/xo528y2go592.htmlObviously I'll take it down if Scott no longer wants his work distributed.
Edit: Bit slow but I was able to download the doc, hope you can too. :D
I added some of my own ideas, I left out some stuff I can run straight from the 3e version, and I had the advantage of WoTC's Monster Manual 3 to refer to for Derroes. Where it says "DT" in the Minion stat blocks, I use a Damage Threshold for minions - the first number is to-Kill, the second is to-Bloody; I'm using Level+2 for this conversion. This replaces "no damage on a miss" which I find works poorly in play, but you should ignore if desired of course.
Here's a Gray Maiden Throneguard, the elite Gray Maidens guarding Castle Korvosa in Book 6:
Gray Maiden Throneguard Level 12 Soldier
Medium natural humanoid (human) XP 700
HP 120; Bloodied 60
AC 28; Fortitude 23; Reflex 25; Will 24
Speed 5 Initiative +12
Perception +9
Standard Actions
m Broadsword (weapon) • At-Will
Attack: +17 vs. AC
Hit: 2d10 + 9 damage.
M Imposing Smite (weapon) • Recharge 5 6
Attack: +17 vs. AC
Hit: 3d10 + 9 damage, and an S or M target is pushed 1 square and knocked prone. .
Triggered Actions
Fanatic (weapon)
Trigger: The Maiden Falls to 0 hp.
Effect: The Gray Maiden makes a melee basic attack.
Defender Aura • At-Will
Trigger: An adjacent enemy shifts or attacks someone neither marking the enemy nor imposing defender aura on the enemy.
Effect (Opportunity): She makes a Broadsword attack vs the triggering enemy.
Skills Intimidate +15, Athletics +16, Endurance +14
Str 21 (+11) Dex 18 (+10) Wis 17 (+9)
Con 16 (+9) Int 15 (+8) Cha 19 (+10)
Alignment evil Languages Common
Equipment plate armor, heavy shield, broadsword
Here's Cressida Kroft, based off the MM2 human noble, whose warlordy powers felt very appropriate. She could be used eg in book 6 as a useful companion character for an undergunned PC group, or to arrest the PCs if things go wrong earlier.
Marshal Cressida Kroft Level 14 Controller (Leader)
Medium natural humanoid (human) XP 1,000
HP 137; Bloodied 69
AC 28; Fortitude 26; Reflex 25; Will 26
Speed 5 Initiative +10
Perception +10
Traits
"Shield Wall!"
She gains a +2 bonus to all defenses while an ally is adjacent.
Standard Actions
m Longsword (weapon) • At-Will
Attack: +19 vs. AC
Hit: 2d8 + 13 damage.
C "You! Take him down!" • At-Will
Effect: Close burst 10 (targets one ally); the target makes a basic attack as a free action and shifts 1 square before or after the attack.
C Inspirational Authority • Encounter
Effect: Close burst 10 (targets one ally); the target uses an at-will, encounter, or recharge attack power as a free action.
C "Stop in the name of the Law!" (charm) • Encounter
Attack: Close burst 5 (targets enemies); +15 vs. Will
Hit: The target cannot use a standard action during its next turn.
Skills Diplomacy +17, Insight +15, Intimidate +17, Streetwise +17
Str 20 (+12) Dex 17 (+10) Wis 17 (+10)
Con 17 (+10) Int 19 (+11) Cha 21 (+12)
Alignment unaligned Languages Common
Equipment pitmail, light shield, longsword
In statting for part 2 onwards I'm generally finding that:
1) Once the PCs have a few levels, most NPCs look to convert best to 4e at '3e level+4'; for monsters it looks more like 'hit dice+4'.
2) If there are more than half a dozen creatures in an encounter then some convert best as minions. If they are very low level then they need extra levels, up to +8; keep an eye on the 3e EL to get a similar threat level overall.
3) There are a few obvious 'name' characters like Sabina Merrin that convert best as Elites at '3e level = 4e level'. Elite status comes with a huge wad of hp and is best reserved for NPCs with some 'plot protection' - it ensures they won't die fast which is good if you want/need to keep them alive, but risks tediousness if overused.
In general I'm finding that 4e monster statting rules work very well for this 'story' based play mode, whereas they often struggle in status-quo sandbox mode. I find 3e the opposite btw! :)
Here's a Gray Maiden Corporal, to liven up encounters with squads of baseline Maidens:
Gray Maiden Corporal Level 7 Soldier (Leader)
Medium natural humanoid (human) XP 300
HP 77; Bloodied 39
AC 23; Fortitude 17; Reflex 19; Will 20 Speed 5 Initiative +7
Perception +5
Standard Actions
m Broadsword (weapon) • At-Will
Attack: +12 vs. AC
Hit: 1d10 + 9 damage, and the target is marked until the end of the Maiden's next turn.
M Imposing Smite (weapon) • Recharge 5 6
Attack: +12 vs. AC
Hit: 2d10 + 9 damage, and an S or M target is pushed 1 square and knocked prone. .
"Take them down!" • At-Will
Effect: (1 ally within 10, of a lower level than the Corporal.); The ally can shift 1 square and make a melee basic attack as a free action with a +2 bonus on the attack.
Move Actions
"Move it, Sister!" • At-Will
Effect: (1 ally within 10.); The ally can Shift 3 squares as a free action.
Triggered Actions
Fanatic (weapon)
Trigger: She falls to 0 hp.
Effect: The Gray Maiden makes a melee basic attack.
Combat Supremacy • At-Will
Trigger: Marked enemy shifts or makes an attack not including the Grey Maiden.
Effect (Immediate Interrupt): She makes a Broadsword attack vs the marked target.
Skills Intimidate +12, Athletics +12, Endurance +9
Str 18 (+7) Dex 15 (+5) Wis 14 (+5)
Con 13 (+4) Int 12 (+4) Cha 19 (+7)
Alignment evil Languages Common
Equipment plate armor, heavy shield, broadsword
In general I'm finding that 4e monster statting rules work very well for this 'story' based play mode, whereas they often struggle in status-quo sandbox mode. I find 3e the opposite btw! :)
I found this as well though a large part of that has to do with the Power system. Essentially every creature does whatever it is you as the DM want it to do for a specific encounter. In 3rd mid to high level monsters, in my experience, tended to be a kind of min max - half the feats where already spoken for just as 'standard' for monster of type X. The rules for building monsters tended to be the story of the monster - you could do some neat min maxing tricks but there was a strong sense that the mechanics made the monster. In 4E the scene makes the monster - its awesome trick is not mechanic based - its a power or series of powers that the DM probably made up and the DM made the powers up to suit the scene.
So in 3rd the of the DM wants a fast and sneaky monster he goes through the books looking for feats that will showcase that. It works in general but its a kind of 'fast and sneaky' generalist build. The DM would take the same kinds of feats for every fast and sneaky monster. In 4E the question is really 'in what way do I want this guy to be fast and sneaky for this fight?' Once the DM answers that s/he makes powers that allow the monster to be fast and sneaky specifically suited to the encounter at hand.
@Jeremy - thanks, yes, I agree. I tend to find with 3e & PF the major monsters have far more abilities than they can ever use in the scene in which they appear - a pain for story-path but useful for sandboxing. Also in 3e & PF challenge level is highly circumstantial; I recently played the end of Burnt Offerings and our initial encounter with Nualia we were totally overwhelmed; second time round knowing what to expect plus a lucky Will save fail (Command - 'Approach!') made it a pretty easy fight. 4e seems a lot less variable & more predictable.
If/when Paizo do 2e Pathfinder they might like to take a look at monster design with this issue in mind.
@Jeremy - thanks, yes, I agree. I tend to find with 3e & PF the major monsters have far more abilities than they can ever use in the scene in which they appear - a pain for story-path but useful for sandboxing. Also in 3e & PF challenge level is highly circumstantial; I recently played the end of Burnt Offerings and our initial encounter with Nualia we were totally overwhelmed; second time round knowing what to expect plus a lucky Will save fail (Command - 'Approach!') made it a pretty easy fight. 4e seems a lot less variable & more predictable.
If/when Paizo do 2e Pathfinder they might like to take a look at monster design with this issue in mind.
Well I agree though I don't necessarily get to stingy with 4E monster powers.
The reality for 4E is that the monsters are very gamist/narrativist. They are designed for the scene in which they are going to be part of. If they reappear I might try designing them for both scenes or - if a significant period of time will pass and they need to change levels I'll be designing two separate stat blocks and will add and modify for each scene specifically.
However the bottom line is that the monsters have as many powers as they need for the encounter at hand. Well we know that a 4E encounter has variable length but 6-9 rounds is pretty standard issue. So here we can pretty much decide about how often we want the monsters to show off its at-wills. Likely at least 2-3 times and then grant it some encounters that it'll break out every second or third round to keep things interesting.
Elites and Solo's generally go down last in a 4E fight (solo's behind elites) simply because their phenomenal number of hps means that killing the weaker monsters first is usually a better plan for the players. So they need more powers and they probably need some movement and interrupt powers to go along with their standard suite. Helps to keep them 'awesome' and showcase that they too are bad asses when stacked against players that have a lot of powers. So I might have quite a few powers for some kinds of monsters, especially a big solo. Though obviously never more then it will use in the fight and it could well have two at wills that I expect it to use twice each.
Obviously this is significantly influenced by the type of monster as well. A huge thug type monster might be an elite or solo but it does not really do more then attack for a ton of damage and have maybe two or three other powers/traits.
The super ninja that is going to take on the entire party all by herself and is supposed to have them scared has an absolute boatload of powers. But a lot of her powers are going to be things that allow her to end conditions or dodge attacks - stuff that will keep her moving and nasty even while the entire PC party is trying to hit her with stuff like Daze attacks or penalties to hit and damage. With the super ninja even when its not her turn its practically still her turn because of all of her interrupts and opportunity type powers.
Put another way 4E monsters have three jobs - to be part of the over all plot or story that is being told. To provide an example of some kind of a theme in an encounter - so wizard type monsters use spells and fast and agile monsters move all over the place. Finally to make entertaining foes.
That last is the most important though don't stint on the first two. So how many powers does a 4E monster have? Exactly enough to be as entertaining as possible when the players fight the monster.
Hence if the monster would have been a more fun opponent if it had had a few more powers then the DM should have given the monster those extra powers, on the other hand if the monster has so many powers that the DM is slowing things down trying to decide what to do and the monster is not really giving off any kind of theme the players can learn from then the DM gave the monster too many powers.
The DM is likely to mess this up a lot - especially when first starting but here practice really does help a ton. Eventually the DM should be able to survey all the creatures in the encounter and decide if adjustments will make this more fun or not based on what took place in previous encounters. Always adjust to be more fun.
Resting
Here's my draft house rule for resting in 4e CoTCT. It lets low level PCs recover Dailies quickly so they still have options, while bringing back attrition, which allows for a much lower general threat level while keeping the game interesting:
Extended Rest: An Extended Rest requires one week (7 days) in typical circumstances such as wilderness camping, or 4 days in particularly salubrious circumstances such as a luxurious inn. Intermediate cases require 4-7 days (GM may roll 1d4+3). An Extended Rest restores all hit points, healing surges, and Daily powers.
Overnight Rest: An overnight rest may be taken once per day, normally overnight, takes 6 hours, and restores 1 Daily power and 1 Healing Surge. If you are trained in Endurance an overnight rest restores 2 Healing Surges.
I don't think this would work well with most published 4e adventures, but should be ideal with converted 3e etc adventures like CoTCT that have different assumptions, and where XP can be easily tweaked. The Endurance rule makes it a valuable skill and helps out the tougher classes, who get it as a class skill.