So, I'm planning to take up DMing again soon. And one of the issues I've always had was balancing encounters. I often overdo it (the encounter, not the balance) and the encounter becomes too difficult.
The party will be lvl5 with 25 PB. There'll be some dungeon crawling, and then 1-2 encounters before the boss monster. The werewolves will be on the direct path there. I'm still designing the campaign, so the players haven't made characters yet (I can't tell you party composition).
I made these with 20PB, lvl5 in monk archetypes that replace Stunning Fist (Stun is a very boring but effective status). The stats are for hybrid form.
http://www.dndsheets.net/view.php?id=37778
http://www.dndsheets.net/view.php?id=37780
So, please let me know what you think. I expect (and encourage) the players to optimize, but this isn't even the boss battle. Should I toss them some silversheen or something? The saving grace I think is that at least their bite->trips won't connect often if they flurry.
First off, as the DM, I can handwave alignment restrictions like that, and in fact I do. For PCs as well.
Second, it doesn't matter. Ex-Monks don't lose abilities, they just can't take levels in Monk again.
Ex-Monks
A monk who becomes nonlawful cannot gain new levels as a monk but retains all monk abilities.
Just don't call it a monk. He's the DM so he can make it have monk powers without being a monk.
Spoilsport. The forum is called "advice" not "crap-on-my-ideas-please".
I wouldn't include silversheen in random encounter drops, but if it's not too late then start dropping hints that silver weapons are a must. Realistically, properly prepared 5th level characters should have silver and cold iron weapons as backups.
Well, the PCs will know they're going into a fire cult temple, so I think they might prepare for fire, but there is little chance they'll be able to figure out there are werewolves before they're in the crawl.
However, the werewolf cultists are being held in a chamber while the cult leader is trying to find a fix for their lycanthropy. It wouldn't be unreasonable that he passed out some anti-lycan items (either silver weapons or silversheen or something) to the guards outside of that chamber.
Usually as a PC myself I don't carry around a golf bag of different metal weapons, but if the PCs do, I guess that makes my job easier.
The biggest potential threat is the DR really taking the edge off the party's attacks. With DR 5, it should be alright. The AC while not through the roof is certainly nice and solid. The only question I'm wondering is what CR you're putting the werewolves at?
Yeah, I'm afraid that at this level, aside from monks/TWF/Rapid Shot, the PCs only get one attack against a pretty high AC, then face the DR.
A lvl5 lycanthrope is CR 6, and here I'm running two of them. I'm not going to give them a terrain advantage (ie it won't be an ambush scenario), the party will have time to buff up if they decide to.
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This is reminding me of the werewolf/vampire half Orc monk I used years ago. That was unbalancing to the extreme.
It looks like you had a good idea of how two keep this balanced. If you fear the PCs will be killed, do some serious foreshadowing to warn them.
A monk who shifts into his wereforms changes his alignment to CE with the shift, and in doing so loses all of his monk abilities.
Sorry.
On top of that, werewolves and other lycanthropes are not hard-wired for their alignment. If you pay attention to the bestiary, the only thing that's hard-wired for alignment are things with an alignment tag, such as [good], or [evil].
MOST werewolves are CE. ALL werewolves are NOT CE.
I don't think the PCs will get killed, but I do think it will be a serious drain on their resources (perhaps setting up their doom at the boss), and also turn into a grindy fight unless they have some nuke capabilities and use them.
I'm considering adding some sort of recharge (some healing, some spell slots back) if they do end up too drained, though I'd want to be careful about how I implement/flavor that so it feels natural.
A monk who shifts into his wereforms changes his alignment to CE with the shift, and in doing so loses all of his monk abilities.
Sorry.
On top of that, werewolves and other lycanthropes are not hard-wired for their alignment. If you pay attention to the bestiary, the only thing that's hard-wired for alignment are things with an alignment tag, such as [good], or [evil].
MOST werewolves are CE. ALL werewolves are NOT CE.
The aflicted ones have more tendencies toward CE.
The Martial Artist archetype (scroll down) might solve that part of the problem
The alignment of werewolves/monks is not a problem at all.
I'm glad people care, but my concern here is not whether werewolf monks can exist without GM intervention (they can, even if they turn CE, as ex-monks they retain all monk abilities. They just can't level up again in Monk).
My concern is the overall power level of the encounter. That's the problem I'm grateful to have feedback on.
werewolves can be lawful. it's far more likely than a lawful good succubus. you can be lawful and still have bestial impulses.
Thank you for staying on topic BlueEyed.
I wanted werewolves, and I puzzled over classes. At first I thought of doing a fighter and a rogue, but then I thought a pair of monks would be more interesting. These are the high acolytes and bodyguards of a cult leader, and they got bitten. They're being quarantined while the leader tries to figure out a cure. Of course, they're being quarantined in their former chambers, which are just in front of the leader's altar room, so they'll be in the direct path of the PCs.
For combat, they'll have go with Flurry and Bite (I know this makes the bite a 2ndry attack with -5 hit and half str to damage). Wolves don't have claws, so that's not a concern. It's just punch/punch/bite.
One of them uses Boar Style to rip apart with his hands, while the other uses Improved Ki Throw to use the free trip from bite to toss PCs into one another. I think it should be pretty fun.
Afflicted Werewolves don't pass on the curse, so contracting the curse won't be a concern. The players won't know about the werewolves until they're in the crawl, so any silver they get would have to be provided within the dungeon (which is one of the things I'm asking about). I'm thinking of perhaps posting some chump guards in front of the Acolyte's chambers, armed with silver weapons in case the werewolves were to break free.
Flurry won't work with NA's unless you take the Feral Combat Training feat, and you'd have to take it with both claw and bite to mix them in. If you are looking for the trip attack, go bite obviously to get that into the FoB.
Silversheen or some such should be available before the fight, even if it is just one vial or weapon to give to the main melee PC (or the melee who lacks big damage depending on how the group wants to do it). Just so the PCs don't cry "foul" with no foreshadowing or warning, I know i'd be slightly annoyed.
Other than that, play it by ear. Our group has gone into some encounters and "lucked out" by good rolls and survived things our GM fully expected us to tpk on. We knew it was a bad idea, were warned, but still did it anyways. As long as we aren't completely blindsided, we take things in stride. I would imagine most groups are the same.
I can just give them Feral Combat Training no problem. I think it's kind of weird since everyone else can stack on Natural Attacks but monk can't. I could see that making sense to avoid both a punch and a claw, but whatever. Not a big deal. I guess that gives them one less attack, but a higher hit chance on the bite since they make it at full BAB as part of the flurry.
I can just give them Feral Combat Training no problem. I think it's kind of weird since everyone else can stack on Natural Attacks but monk can't. I could see that making sense to avoid both a punch and a claw, but whatever. Not a big deal. I guess that gives them one less attack, but a higher hit chance on the bite since they make it at full BAB as part of the flurry.
The only drawback is chewing up 2 feats to do it, weapon focus is a prereq. However it does mean you can flurry with all bites to get multiple trip attacks...
It means giving up Improved Ki Throw, which would've been some of the fun, sadly. I think right now there is a lot of discussion about how flurry works (and whether you can flurry with the "same" weapon, the devs want the answer to be no), so I'll pass up on double bites. It wouldn't be too fun to face that many trip attempts.
It means giving up Improved Ki Throw, which would've been some of the fun, sadly. I think right now there is a lot of discussion about how flurry works (and whether you can flurry with the "same" weapon, the devs want the answer to be no), so I'll pass up on double bites. It wouldn't be too fun to face that many trip attempts.
Odd, the FAQ is where I read using the same natural weapon was valid with FCT...
let them find some large silver candlesticks
Odd, the FAQ is where I read using the same natural weapon was valid with FCT...
Well, I was looking at this thread: http://paizo.com/forums/dmtz5ec0&page=1?Flurry-of-Changes-to-Flurry-of- Blows
Silver Candlesticks might be an idea. I don't know how effective such an improvised weapon would be (you might lose more than you gain by penetrating the DR), but it's something.
Odd, the FAQ is where I read using the same natural weapon was valid with FCT...Well, I was looking at this thread: http://paizo.com/forums/dmtz5ec0&page=1?Flurry-of-Changes-to-Flurry-of- Blows
Silver Candlesticks might be an idea. I don't know how effective such an improvised weapon would be (you might lose more than you gain by penetrating the DR), but it's something.
Ehh, the boards aren't "official" really, though sometimes they do make it into the FAQ/Errata. Though, truthfully just as much doesn't, even if it comes from a Paizo employee.
Until it gets changed current ruling comes from here as far as I can find:
Feral Combat Training allows you to use the selected natural attack as if it were a monk weapon—you can use it as one of your flurry of blows attacks, use it to deploy special attacks that require you to use a monk weapon, apply the effects of the natural weapon (such as a poisonous bite) for each flurry of blows attack, and so on.
Improvised weapons would mostly be useful for the main melee combatants, they can afford the penalty to hit and have the bonus to damage typically. Also the penalty from improvised weapons could be avoided partly if not totally, with Aid Another from the other party members. It at least gives them something to do besides wasting resources or twiddling thumbs.