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I'm running a game and I'm worried this guy might be unbeatable for a party of 4 powerful 11th level PCs. It says it would only be CR 14, but it looks really good. I want it to be a tough solo encounter, but this might be a bit too difficult.
Mitch Vondran
Human (Vampire)
Fighter 12
Abilities
STR 28 (32 w/ Belt of Giant's Stength)
DEX 18
CON *
INT 11
WIS 14
CHA 16 (18 w/ Headband of Alluring Charisma)
Saving Throws
FORT - +13
REF - +11
WILL - +7
HP 148
AC 32 = 10 (Base) + 6 (Armor) + 5 (Shield) + 4 (DEX) + 6 (NAT)
DR 10/Magic and Silver
Walk 30 ft
INIT +8 = 4 (DEX) + 4 (Improved Init)
BAB +12/+7/+2
Melee +23/+18/+13
Ranged +16/+11/+6
CMB +23/+18/+13
Weapons
Shieldbash (Heavy)
+23/+18/+13
1d8 + 5
+2 Unholy Bastard Sword
+27/+22/+17
1d10 + 17 (+ 2d6)
Armor
Elven Chain +6
+3 Bashing Spiked Heavy Steel Shield +5
Skills (Trained Only)
Craft (Weapons) +10
Intimidate +30
Knowledge (Religion) +6
Ride +10
Special Qualities (Other than Vampire Qualities B 270)
Active Defense (APG 108)
Bravery (CR 66)
Shield Buffet (APG 108)
Shield Fighter (108)
Feats
Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Bastard Sword)
Greater Weapon Focus (Bastard Sword)
Greater Weapon Specialization (Bastard Sword)
Improved Bull Rush
Improved Shield Bash
Improved Two Weapon Fighting
Intimidating Prowess
Mounted Combat
Power Attack
Shield Master
Shield Slam
Two Weapon Fighting
Weapon Focus (Bastard Sword)
Weapon Specialization (Bastard Sword)
Alertness
Armor Proficiency
Combat Reflexes
Dodge
Improved Initiative
Lightning Reflexes
Weapon Proficiency (Simple, Martial)
Shield Proficiency (Regular, Tower)
Toughness
Relevant Equipment
Belt of Giant's Strength +4
Boots (Command Word, Doom, CL 1, Cleric)
Cloak of Resistance +1
Elven Chain
Figurine of Wondrous Power (Silver Raven)
Gauntlets (Use Activated, Shocking Grasp, CL 10, Wizard)
Headband of Alluring Charisma +2
+3 Bashing Spiked Heavy Steel Shield
+2 Unholy Bastard Sword
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There are enough holes in the vampires defenses that the party should easily defeat it, if they have someone who can target its will save (Witch, Cleric, Arcane) it might not even get to act.
Its also extremely gear reliant so a raging barbarian with sunder can probably 1-2 hit the shield at level 11 (dropping the AC by 5)
I am worried that the level 11 frontliner has a to hit of only +17 should be higher, +11 bab +4 ST + 1 weapon focus + 1 enchantment is +17 and by 11 should be +11 bab +5 ST +1 weapon focus + 3 enchantment + 4 (weapon training or Rage) for +24 meaning you hit it on a 8+
It is a very reasonable monster for the party level infact I would even say a touch on the underpowered side in most parties I wouldnt expect it to last more than 2 rounds (3 if your frontliner is a barbarian and wants to sunder its shield first).
Well don't forget it's an undead so it's immune to 90% of the spells that calls for a will save (and ALL the spells that call for a fort save). This will make him a bit tougher but yeah a strictly melee creature like this is going to lose the action economy race. He does have potential though.
Now with that said if you're going to make a shield focused fighter I'd personally give him a spear/reach weapon instead of the bastard sword and swap out the shocking grasp glove for a poison gas/fog cloud effect. (there are archetypes that let him use a shield and a longspear), the fog/poison cloud effect will protect from rogues and keep him from getting dog-piled and giving concealment from those nasty Targeted spells coming in.
This would make your melee vamp scary and threatening but keep the actual risk down of him TPK'ing your party.
Big, scary involved fight that's exciting but pretty sure the party will win eventually.
and ALL the spells that call for a fort save
Tell that to disintegrate.
Meh, CR 14 vs 11th level party ? Kill 'em all, let Pharasma sort them out. One command undead spell and he's pretty thoroughly hosed.
1st Round,
Vampire dominates the fighter, heavy hitter now on his team. PC's fighting two instead of one. Ahh, vampires!
Still 148 HP against a party of 4? This Guy will go down in a Heartbeat.
1st Round,
Vampire dominates the fighter, heavy hitter now on his team. PC's fighting two instead of one. Ahh, vampires!
DC 20 or 22, easily thwarted by protection from evil. Problem solved. :)
DC 20 or 22, easily thwarted by protection from evil. Problem solved. :)1st Round,
Vampire dominates the fighter, heavy hitter now on his team. PC's fighting two instead of one. Ahh, vampires!
True, but that's if the party is prepared to fight him. If that's the case then he's got no chance with a bit of prep work.
A vampire named Mitch. Awesome.
So the first thing I thought when I saw the name of the thread was beware the DRACO-WERE-PYRE.
The problem is, he's solo - a vampire is a "boss" undead: he should have a screen on minions aiding him.
I mean, the 9th level sorceress I'm playing currently - who would have decent odds of beating the vampire in initiative (+9 vs. its +8) - would open with a persistent Command Undead (DC 22 will save) and would have a 91% chance of shutting the encounter down before it begins, AND have a powerful undead minion for 9 days!
Not an issue if it has a cleric minion casting Protection from Good. For that latter, for 4k gold it can have a Ring of Counterspells (command undead), giving it a round to deal with the sorceress.
What would be a better encounter, imho, would be a *party* of vampires: a fighter (or ranger, or monk), an arcane caster (sorcerer is flavorful), maybe a divine caster (the necromancer), and something tricky like a shadowdancer (with a shadow companion). *That* could be challenging!
One of the deadliest encounters I ever ran against PCs - and these were broken 15th or 16th level characters - were a vampire wizard (15 I think), a vampire anti-paladin with a Nightmare mount, tricked out with mounted combat feats, a nightwalker (a gift to the wizard from an evil god) and 3 dread wraiths (servants of the wizard). The vampire wizard's imp familiar had been shadowing the party for three days, observing their other fights, so the wizard knew all the party's classes (powerful vampires are smart!) The vampires elected to attack the party when they were camped on a benighted plain.
It's been awhile, but the party was a two fighters, a paladin, a cleric, a druid, and the druid's wizard henchman (leadership feat). Attacking the camp with surprise, and knowing who was what, the vampire wizard immediately Mazed the cleric (who had dumped intelligence) and blanketed the camp in Deeper Darkness. The dread wraiths - with lifesense - entered the darkness to make flat-footed Con-draining touch attacks. As combat progressed, the vampire antipaladin made ride-by attacks and spirited charges against those who emerged from the darkness, while the night walker hammered individual targets with at-will greater dispels and destroyed weapons when able. The druid's wizard created a Magnificent Mansion for the party to retreat into to rebuff at one point, but the night walker simply targeted the door and greater dispelled it (CL is like 20)... finally, the party fled to regroup, escape, and live to fight another day (with the implacable vampire commandos still in hot pursuit!) It was a nasty, nasty encounter, earned some respect for vampires from a party which was in need of humbling, and is remembered to this day! (some 8 or so years later...)
The real key, to me, with vampires is: they need to be presented with a scenario where they can focus on a victim to drain his con - this is very hard to do in combat - and so they need minions and allies to occupy the others. Solo just doesn't cut it (well, maybe a grappler/sorcerer who can cast a resilient sphere around himself and a victim, to feed whil a party pounds on the "glass" hehe.)