Ever since I found out about the Trox, I've wanted to see one in a game, as a barbarian or a fighter. I haven't been able to play as one myself.
In January, I started running a game for a few friends from church. One has been playing D&D for more than 10 years, the other two have never played a tabletop RPG.
Here's the party composition we ended up with:
Human draconic druid (he's the veteran D&D player)
Catfolk Celestial bloodline sorceress
Trox barbarian
The idea here is that with two spellcasters, they needed someone to protect them. As the third party member didn't have any particular preferences about what he wanted to be, I suggested the Trox barbarian (and, to be honest, I really played up how massively strong he would be), and he went for it. To be fair, I did not exaggerate at all how powerful he would be. If anything, I may have underestimated.
Which brings me to today. My brother and sister (who have played Pathfinder for 2 years in another campaign of mine) are also joining, as a halfling rogue and a homebrew lizardfolk shaman. They'll help fill in some skill gaps and provide a party healer (my brother, playing the shaman, is playing his character as someone who doesn't like killing things).
I've come to realize that I've created a monster. The party is now 6th-level (I started everyone out at 5th), and the trox can one-shot most low-level monsters with a Power Attack. And now they have two more party members, one who can buff the party and debuff enemies, and one who can sneak attack.
To be fair, it isn't like they haven't come close to death. When it was the original 3, they went up against a pack of gnolls, and a demon and a sorceress and almost died. And that was with me running another druid (my friend's in-game teacher) to serve as not only a story element, but also as a sort of healer. I plan to kill him off just to make things easier for me to run, but until then I've got a very powerful party and I'm not sure what to do with it.
As of the end of my last session, the new party of 5 were just assembled and haven't engaged in any combat yet. So I haven't even thought about what kind of encounter to design for their first battle.
I'm trying to strike that delicate balance between challenging them enough that they have a chance to succeed and throwing a horde of monsters at them that just wipes hem out. I've already learned that spellcasters are effective against the trox, but arcane spellcasters are rare in my world. It doesn't make sense for every battle they have be against a sorcerer who can put the trox to sleep and drop him with Create Pit.
So I'm looking for ideas to challenge this party in a way that makes sense, while not overpowering my monsters. Maybe create one or two really tough monsters to challenge the trox while the others fight the rest of the party? Not sure. I know I need my mind opened up a bit, as I've got a minor case of tunnel vision here.
Any help, even the smallest idea, would be greatly appreciated.
Examine their characters. Most characters with aggressive strengths have aggressive weaknesses to match. Most characters who are bad at nothing are good at nothing. Match your challenges to the party weaknesses.
Create goals for them that require them to play to their weaknesses instead of the strengths. Challenge them to roleplay in new ways.
You could just ramp up the difficulty.
You could also resign yourself to the fact that as a good GM, everything you create is a toy that your players will break until the day when your toys break them, and the fun is all over. The bottom line is that your players should be having fun, and so should you. Ask them what they think of the difficulty level.
If they say, "We love this game, and we love you!" Don't change a thing.
If they say, "It's getting a little too easy." then you should look for ways to ramp up the difficulty or shift the game to less action and more drama, suspense or mystery.
If they say, "Everything is easy when you are awesome like I am! Suck on it, b*#@#!" Bring them pain.
read GM 101
look at each character and figure out what they can do best.
Observe each player and see what they like to do best.
Decide where you want the story to go... you need to figure out a story arc that will last more than 1 session, aim for 3.
Create an adventure that challenges each character to do his best and what each player likes to do (they may not be the same). You also need to work in about 1/3 of the challenges that will help them grow and learn(roleplaying is a teaching tool).
All of these should line up with the story arc and move the plot forward.
Look at the level 5-9 scenarios. Rework a few into what you want.
Mechanically you are looking at an APL+3 or +4 CR encounter if it's combat. That will match the beast you've made. Spellcasters are notorious for making low will save character's their pets. Give them a few mooks to attack while the wizard tests their saves... APL+2 is probably where skill tests and puzzles should be at as your party doesn't excel at that.
Another way to look at it is to figure out the Damage per Round(DPR) vs the tgt's AC. You want a target to last ehhh 4 rounds. In that 4 rounds will it drop the barbarian? Will the barbarian explode in a rain of blood?! Who will engage the other party members during that time(what's their DPR?)? You goal is to make them sweat a bit, not kill them. Make them feel like they accomplished something. You have tools on hand, add DR to creatures, fast healing(only gonna extend things a bit), try some constructs or robots.
@ Azothath:
That is great advice, thank you. I'd never heard of GM 101 before, but I'll begin reading it immediately.
I'd never considered DPR before. I've still got a lot to learn.
Being able to one shot an enemy is cool, but what happens when there are a dozen or more lesser HD enemies there? 3 shooting arrows from different walled areas or trees? 1 or 2 flying enemies as well?
It rained the night before; ground is difficult terrain? A stone plateau slick from ice?
There is a burning building, or someone trapped under a fallen tree, or other natural disasters where innocents are in danger, all the while combat is going on?
Even when the encounter comes under your PCs control, another set of enemies enter the battle at round 3, who are not affected from the prior cast spells and are unhurt. No the PCs have to adapt.
Being a one hit power monster is fun, but there is only so many feet he can move each round and so many swings.
You create a battle environment where a cleric boosts abilities or dampens enemies, the wizard does battlefield control through walls or eliminating distant threats, and/or the group sets up all the pins so the barbarian can knock then all down? Then everyone, you included, wins. Doesn't matter if the group always face rolls the enemies, it's that they have fun setting up their winning ways.
If your combats are always on even playing field, without hazards, and there is no difficulty in access to the melee fight? There's boring for everyone, except your one shotting barbarian.
One thing worth noting is that Trox are an exceptional race, similar to Drow Nobles, and should be 1 level lower than the rest of the party to compensate. This won't stop him from curbstomping enemies that get into melee reach with him, since Trox are ludicrously over-specialized in that department, but it does make the shortcomings a lot more noticeable.
As others have mentioned, use terrain to your advantage. The Trox is large-sized and pretty much melee-only, so making it hard for him to close distance will greatly inhibit him. Another simple approach is just to include weak mook enemies in your combat encounters. The Trox will one-shot them, but if he needs to spend 5 or 6 rounds slowly working his way through a swarm of weak enemies that gives a lot of time for the stronger foes in the back to do their work. For boss enemies, you might consider creating a very high AC foe.
Make this a recurring villain. Now, get into the right mindset, we have a deranged sorcerer/rogue/arcane trickster who thinks himself a god
Loki, the god of mischief and lies::
The "villain" who is usually one step ahead of everyone else. Slick, sly, and clever, the prodigal son of Asgard.
Race and Attributes
The Loki of Marvel comics fame is a frost giant. Adopted by Odin, Loki's nature was hidden from him until he discovered he'd been living a lie.
The mythical Loki on the other hand was one of the only fire giants mentioned in Norse myth. Fire represented wit and cleverness, and if left unchecked it would consume and destroy. This build suggests neither and both of these at the same time.
The best fit for Loki both mechanically and thematically is the tiefling; specifically the Rakshasa variant. This variant provides a +2 to dexterity and a +2 to charisma, as well as a -2 to wisdom. What is more fitting for the god of it-seemed-like-a-good-idea-at-the-time? It also provides access to the skills Disguise and Sense Motive (both useful things to have), as well as the use of detect thoughts as a spell-like ability instead of darkness. This race also gives Loki resistance to fire, cold, and electricity, perhaps just to spite his brother.
As far as attributes go Loki has more use for dexterity, charisma, and intelligence. While he isn't known for his toughness, he is a giant, so constitution shouldn't be his dump stat. Strength isn't primary, but it is useful.
Traits
Loki is a complex character, which is why picking traits for him can be difficult.Magical knack (+2 to your caster level up to your total character level) is a great trait for balancing out the caster level problems multi-classing incurs. Dangerously curious (+1 on use magic device, and u.m.d is always a class skill for you) is also a useful trait, since it sums up both Loki's personality as well as his use of magical items. Traits like convincing liar (+1 trait bonus to bluff or intimidate, and it's always a class skill for you), as well as charming (+1 trait bonus to Bluff, Diplomacy, and the DC of language dependent spells cast on someone who could be sexually attracted to the caster) are equally good choices.
Classes
Loki possesses a wide array of abilities, and he's proven himself readily adaptable. That said, he is an amalgamation of magic and guile that can only be thematically realized through the Arcane Trickster prestige class (Core Rule Book 377). All someone needs is 3 levels of rogue and 4 levels of sorcerer to enter the prestige class; this covers the 4 ranks of Disable Device, Escape Artist, and Knowledge Arcana, as well as 2d6 of sneak attack and the ability to cast mage hand in addition to at least 1 second level spell. Players should choose their bloodline carefully, but the Silver Tongue ability of the Rakshasa bloodline (Ultimate Magic 68) makes it a slam dunk with the ability to add a +5 to a Bluff check, and to make it more difficult for other people to force you to tell the truth. As far as the Rogue Talent, fast stealth is one of the more useful ones, but players can choose whatever they wish.
Arcane Trickster fulfills Loki's theme in a way that few other builds do. It provides decent skill ranks (4+Int modifier) per level, a long list of skills, it continues offering effective levels of spellcasting, and it provides unique abilities like Impromptu Sneak Attack as well as Tricky Spells (the ability to declare an attack a sneak attack and ignore verbal or somatic components on a whim respectively). Arcane Tricksters are extremely adaptable, and if focused are a force to be reckoned with.
Skills
Loki's skills are diverse, but this build should focus on what the player needs. Disable device (for getting into and out of tricky spots), knowledge (arcana) [for that rare lore about ancient powers], and escape artist (because being tied up makes life difficult) are necessary investments (though the last may be impractical past the 4 ranks required). Loki should also have both bluff and diplomacy at their highest ranks (for obvious reasons), and intimidate is also a useful skill (for those who remember his speech to the Black Widow in Avengers). Stealth is a given, and disguise can be useful unless a player plans to use magic to affect a disguise instead of more mundane means. Acrobatics is useful for getting away, and sleight of hand is something that every Loki build should have, as the Arcane Trickster allows for its use at range. Use magic device is a requirement, particularly since it's a Charisma-based skill. Spellcraft is also important (since it's useful to know what enemies are casting), and it's key to identifying magic items. How many skills and what focus a player decides varies on what intelligence score he or she chose, as well as whether their Loki has become a hero, a villain, or if he is still going through his fall from grace.
Feats
Feats for Loki vary, but magical and skill feats will be what players find most helpful. Skill focus (Core Rule Book 134) is great for providing bonuses on any skill both now and later. Other skill feats like deceitful(Core Rule Book 121) help with disguise and bluff. Feats like spell focus and greater spell focus (Core Rule Book 134 and 125) are essential for making sure that enemies make their saves as rarely as possible. For damage dealing spells it's a good idea to invest in spell penetration and greater spell penetration (Core Rule Book 134 and 125), as well as varisian tattoo (Inner Sea World Guide 289) which increases your effective caster level by school.
With so many options it's important to ask what your Loki is going to focus on, and make sure it's available. Mundane trickery? Illusion magic? Enchantment? Once you've chosen your weapon of choice, make it count.
Spells
Magic is going to be key to Loki's abilities, and sorcerers only get a select number of spells. Most of Loki's magic tends to be illusion or enchantment, and early spell selections like charm person (Core Rule Book 254), disguise self (Core Rule Book271), and anything that can create a false double or protect Loki like mirror image(Core Rule Book 314) or minor image (Core Rule Book 314) are always good choices for spell selection.
When it comes to Loki's magic it's less about which specific spells a player chooses, and more about how the player uses them. For Loki magic isn't about incinerating his opponents or leaving them frozen in a permanent ice prison (well, most of the time). It's about misdirection, distraction, and making his enemies fight each other while keeping himself out of harm's way as much as he can. For instance, players who can charm enemies into fighting one another (POSSIBLY GETTING A WILLING SLAVE FIGHTER-TYPE if the charmed creature survives the fight), or get those enemies to stand aside and let the party pass without harm, are sort of what the concept is all about. Not all enemies can be affected by charms and illusions though. That's why it's important to select at least a few battlefield control spells like obscuring mist (Core Rule Book317), as well as spells that create walls to trap enemies and provide safety. Invisibility is Loki's best friend as well, particularly when it comes time to sneak away undetected while a decoy pretends to stand and fight.
Equipment
Loki, like all adventurers, will benefit greatly from getting his hands on the right equipment. A cloak of resistance (Core Rule Book 507) is always a good choice, as are bracers of armor (Core Rule Book 504). However, to really play into Loki's themes, it's a good idea to have items like a ring of invisibility (Core Rule Book 481), dust of tracelessness (Core Rule Book 510), or even really expensive items like the boots of teleportation (Core Rule Book 504). Any scrolls or wands that can save Loki's personal magic for when it's needed are also great investments, especially if they're for spells he doesn't normally have access to but might want in a pinch.
For those imitating Marvel's Loki down to the details though, one of the most important items to have is a rod of rulership (Core Rule Book 488). It allows for the rulership of up to 300 hit dice worth of creatures at a time, though intelligent creatures do get a save against the effect. While this scepter has a limited amount of time it can be used, 500 minutes total, it is certainly a thematically powerful item.
Final Suggestions
There will always be players who have different ideas and desires for how they'd like to play their version of a concept. Some players might think the Elemental bloodline is truer to Loki's myth and heritage, and that illusion and evocation spells would be a better combination. Others might think playing a straight sorcerer rather than diluting it with rogue and arcane trickster would be preferable. Remember; no player is wrong.
The only truly dumb decision a player can make when putting together a character is not to look ahead. This is particularly true with a multi-class character. Every skill choice, every feat, every spell learned should be a puzzle piece that fits into a complete image. Players should know what they can do at level one as well as at level ten or twenty, and they should be aware of what the holes in their strategy are. For instance, Loki's extremely low BAB means that he isn't going to mix it up well in combat, but if he's fighting someone immune to his spells or if he's out of magic then what does he do? What does a character focused on illusion and enchantment spells do when facing undead? Or when trying to deal with constructs? These are all questions that players need to ask themselves.
Remember, there's a counter to everything. No matter how stealthy someone is or how high a spell DC is, there's a foil. Players who expect their bags of tricks to never run dry often find that when they least expect it they run into something they didn't plan for. Like being used as a floor mace by the Hulk.
Make this a recurring villain. Now, get into the right mindset, we have a deranged sorcerer/rogue/arcane trickster who thinks himself a god
That's an excessive level of prep-work for an NPC. For a PC it's fine, but NPC's will often die at inopportune times due to their lack of plot armor. Getting over-invested in an NPC is bad for two reasons; first it can be intensely demoralizing as a GM for a character you worked so hard on and put a lot of effort into to just die in an anticlimactic fashion much earlier than expected, and secondly it can devote your creative resources away from areas that might ultimately better serve your game world.
That's not to say you shouldn't prep interesting antagonists, but if your background writeup runs 3 pages without even including a statblock you've gone seriously overboard.
Arcane spellcasters are rare? Burst of Radiance is a great divine substitute for Glitterdust, Command can tell the Trox "put down the Greataxe" or "Run away my pretty!". Murderous Command does...exactly what it sounds like, with potentially disastrous results. Are the enemies mostly NPCs or monsters?
Frankly, a Trox doesn't sound THAT overpowered...if you made him (it?) Medium size instead of Large, and maybe took away another ability such as Frenzy and the extra Grapple. But if you're not going to nerf the character, then obviously you need some other suggestions. Raising the enemy facing the Trox to full HP (rather than the usual half that their statblocks will have), giving them the Advanced Template, giving them more temporary buffs, etc will help. For instance, while he can't really hit worth a you-know-what, I built a Monk/Eldritch Scoundrel that, at level 4 (using Crane Style and one casting of Mage Armor) has a 25 AC. A wand of Shield would put that up to a 29 for at least ten rounds. Even that should be a bit of a stretch for the Trox to reliably hit at this level.
Also, one or two tough monsters can be trickier with a big party I think. The problem is action economy: you've got 5 or 6 actions for every 1 or 2 your enemies can take, which means there's at least three times the opportunities for your side to debuff, inflict other status conditions, and do other fun things. And if arcane spellcasters are rare, you might be leaning then more towards big tough powerful creatures, which may be very balanced against the Trox but would themselves one-shot your other characters.
I'm running Kingmaker as a GM, and frankly the fey have a lot of interesting abilities that allow them to give PCs a hard time. This assumes you're mostly throwing monsters at the PCs.
Make this a recurring villain. Now, get into the right mindset, we have a deranged sorcerer/rogue/arcane trickster who thinks himself a god
That's an excessive level of prep-work for an NPC. For a PC it's fine, but NPC's will often die at inopportune times due to their lack of plot armor. Getting over-invested in an NPC is bad for two reasons; first it can be intensely demoralizing as a GM for a character you worked so hard on and put a lot of effort into to just die in an anticlimactic fashion much earlier than expected, and secondly it can devote your creative resources away from areas that might ultimately better serve your game world.
That's not to say you shouldn't prep interesting antagonists
To me taking down a long-term adversary is more rewarding. the DM should know THAT character inside and out.
Valdir the Wanderer wrote:
I've already learned that spellcasters are effective against the trox, but arcane spellcasters are rare in my world. It doesn't make sense for every battle they have be against a sorcerer who can put the trox to sleep and drop him with Create Pit...
this is why i recommend a recurring sorcerer villain.
Same villain, uses same/similar tactics.
Force your players to work more as a team to counter said villain. They will figure out Dispel Magic is their friend.
Force your villain to learn new tactics as he learns his foe's are not quite as one-dimensional as he thought.
Make it all the sweeter for your players when they finally do being down their great foe.
And the sorcerer shouldn't be in every encounter, but he should be smart enough to have an escape plan.
And that is the reason for the Loki build.
When they do finally catch up to him, let him get used as a floor mace by the Trox.
