Post/Author/DateTime	Post
The_Cheeseman 01-09-08, 01:36 AM	I am designing a campaign for 40th-level characters (yeah, crazy huh?) and I am really trying to make some of the encounters interesting and fun. I want to use all brand-new monsters, since my players are well-read and tend to know the ins-and-outs of the Monster Manuals. Plus, there really isn't much content for 40+ campaigns. Well, not good content, anyways. I consider myself a fairly competent monster builder, but I really feel a bit overwhelmed by this level range. However, my players and I agree that we would have fun playing with some earth-shattering powers, and I think I'm up to the challenge. However, I wanted to get some feedback on my first creation before I went ahead and built the rest, just to make sure I'm on the right track. Take a look at this monster: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dz3r5z3_382chw4jbgf The link is a published document on Google Docs. Please let me know what you think. Have you played at similar power levels before? Would your party have wiped the floor with, or been obliterated by, this fiend? Do you see any obvious loopholes that could be exploited by a reasonably competent epic party to bring down this monster with unforeseen ease? Please, let me know what you think! Oh, and if you're one of my players (you know who you are), please don't look at this. I'm trusting you guys to exercise restraint and not spoil the fun I have in store for you!
drunkendrake 01-09-08, 04:21 PM	Beware of things with burrow speeds. you appear to have little to no way of following them. You could, however, retreat into the sky and force them to make a move. Also there are a lot of spells (particularly in Sandstorm) which will help you to mince anything underground by removing or transmuting the ground. Same goes for swim speeds- water may be a slight problem, although with the amount of fire at your disposal, this, again, might not be such a problem. If you can pick you fight and take it to the PCs, you shouldn't have many actual loopholes- your dispelling is probably (I'm not making any bets) enought to get rid of most of the PCs' fire resistance, which they probably will have, and/or immunity. Be careful, and stay away from races which come with fire immunity. -Drake- NB: I'm assuming you're able to balance the actual relative power levels- I am no authority over whether this is actually CR 50. I was just looking for loopholes.
The_Cheeseman 01-09-08, 05:41 PM	Fortunately, since the battle will take place on a demiplane of my own design, I won't have to worry about water hazards. However, burrowing could be problematic. I don't see it causing any serious headaches, though. I guess they could try to duck underground to wait-out its undying frenzy, but that would leave it plenty of time to heal itself and get ready to pound them into a pulp. Thanks for the feedback! If anybody else has any more input, please post it.
DarkDerrik 01-10-08, 09:30 PM	Make a hydra with tons of SR, DR, and HP, and have it start off with 50 or so heads. Make it a cyrohydra, and have the enviroment do 5d6 damage to all non-cold monsters. It is also immune to head chopping, it just grows 2d6 heads a turn and has no limit to how many heads it can have. The hydra can live in a pocket on your demiplane and past the pocket lies a mysterious new plane...but the PC's will have to battle the Hydra to get their. (For an added bonus, toss in a couple Gelugon Wizards that know mainly fire spells...the PC's wil never see it coming.)
The_Cheeseman 01-11-08, 06:15 PM	Thanks for the ideas, but I was really looking for input about the monster I designed, rather than an entirely new encounter. Have any thoughts on it?
sykdude 01-12-08, 07:27 PM	Make them fight a creature like the Hulk from world war hulk. Incredibly smart, and gains str the angrier he gets. That is an epic challenge!
PrinceOfTheVoid 01-12-08, 07:56 PM	I don't know about the actual abilities (no time to read through them right now), but the numbers on this thing are definately not CR 50 in my book, but that might be different for you. (Each DM's epic game being different after all) Hp: 1,280-- THe last level 50 party I ran dished out approximately 10,000 damage a round. That's child's play. (Not factoring in any immunities or DR, or the like) Initiative: +16, way too low, shoot for at least +30 SR: although seemingly standard 12 + CR, this is too low. At this level, you should shoot for 20 + CR. Attack Bonus: +71, shoot for at least 100 Vulnerability to cold- HUGE weakness. Intensified Split Ray Twinned Polar Ray one-shots this thing Vile damage is not a type of damage, its a modifier to a type, so it would deal Vile Fire damage, but that wouldn't bypass immunity. Instead you should make all of its Fire Damage into Hellfire Damage, which cannot be blocked by anything short of a custom epic spell. You can make it vile too. Ability Scores: Also way too low, a str of 50 would be more than justifiable. Keep in mind, I'm trying to help and this is all based on my personal high-level experience. If your characters aren't optimized that well, then fine. If they are, then this thing is more like a CR 30. Of course, I play with level 50 parties who find the following combination: Greater Celerity + Intensified Time Stop + Crushing Fist of Spite x 10, balanced and acceptable. Last note, if you're looking for some truly fearsome and challenging epic monsters, check out Upper_Krust's Immortal's Handbook, which has CRs from 10 to 9,720 (with an emphasis on 30th to 100th level for the most part) such as this: http://www.immortalshandbook.com/IHpreview1.htm which in my print copy is listed as CR 35, not 85. (this one is outdated)
The_Cheeseman 01-15-08, 06:06 AM	Wow, sounds like I may need to take this thing back to the drawing board, then. You're analysis has been very eye-opening for me. I guess I'll need to see exactly what my players end up making for their epic characters, and design foes within their power levels. Thanks a lot!
PrinceOfTheVoid 01-15-08, 12:43 PM	The one thing I've learned about making epic encounters (and I think it says so in a sidebar in the ELH) is to never, ever, pull your punches. If it looks overpowered, you'll probably be dissappointed. Just don't go overboard. (I was once accused of putting my ECL 50 group against a CR 90 encounter. Just a Level 60 Demilich with 20 rounds of buffing and his Death Knight Warblade 20/ Fighter 10/ Black Guard 20 bodyguard.)