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Nicolai Withander
Master of Realmslore
Denmark
1093 Posts |
 Posted - 07 Jun 2013 : 10:23:14
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Hello...
I’m running a game, where I have a very cocky wizard and I’m hoping you guys will help me come up with a challenge for this dude!
I need to find some anti- Spellcasting monsters. I need them to exist in Faerûn, meaning that it should be part of the FR line of books. I need them to be either 3.0 or 3.5 rules. CR should preferable be non-epic, or as low CR as possible and in no way must it be above CR 27.
I hope you guys will help me. Thanks
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Ze
Learned Scribe
Italy
147 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jun 2013 : 11:04:52
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Very first thing that comes to my mind are the Nishruu, very setting specific and definitely anti-magic.
They should be in Monsters of Faerun and possibly in Lost Empires of Faerun, but I'm away from the books.
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Bladewind
Master of Realmslore
Netherlands
1280 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jun 2013 : 14:30:25
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Want the player to learn to solve his problems without his magics for once? Have him cross a nighthag.
Nighthags nightly dreamhaunting (su) ability can prevent a spellcaster from getting rest, disallowing the recharge of their spellcasting powers, and drains constitution when a (ethereal) nighthag succesfully 'rides' its victem untill dawn. They also have nice immunities and high spell resistance (25) at relative low CR (9).
If you need to beef a nighthag up, look up Cegilunes stats, the nighthag ruler of the yugoloth infested Gray Wastes, and add a few levels of cleric, sorcerer or rogue to the nighthag. |
My campaign sketches
Druidic Groves
Creature Feature: Giant Spiders |
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Bakra
Senior Scribe
628 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jun 2013 : 15:08:23
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quote:
Originally posted by Nicolai Withander
Hello...
I’m running a game, where I have a very cocky wizard and I’m hoping you guys will help me come up with a challenge for this dude!
I need to find some anti- Spellcasting monsters. I need them to exist in Faerûn, meaning that it should be part of the FR line of books. I need them to be either 3.0 or 3.5 rules. CR should preferable be non-epic, or as low CR as possible and in no way must it be above CR 27.
I hope you guys will help me. Thanks
You could have something eat the wizards traveling spellbooks and his home collection. Or design a memory worm which slowly decreases his capacity to memorize spells or reduces the effectiveness of his spells. Something he wouldn’t notice right of the bat, the player might but not the actual character.
When all else fail use a psionic creature.
Good luck.
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So saith Ed. <snip>
love to all,
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Erik Scott de Bie
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
4598 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jun 2013 : 15:47:00
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Pro DM tip: In your haste to challenge the PC, don't go overboard and just render his character useless or stripped of all his power. And certainly don't do so vindictively--even if the PC is breaking your game, he still shouldn't feel picked on or bullied by his trusty DM.
Not recharging spells is a great one, but don't spring it on him when he's at his lowest, when he had every reason to expect he'd get his magic back. Build it up gradually: a few spell slots denied here and there, maybe spell level rolled randomly (depending on what spells he can cast: d4, d6, d8, d10?). And he is just cumulatively losing spells and not necessarily sure why.
Consider putting him in a situation where he can use his magic, but it's an inefficient or unlikely solution. Say he's fighting a golem that is not only immune to most magic but actively charges up when it consumes magic. (I believe stone and iron golems do this in 3.5? It's been a while since I looked up those stats.) A golem that takes 1/4 damage from offensive spells but gets attack, AC, and speed bonuses whenever it gets hit by magic? Pretty scary.
Or the party may be in an area filled with creatures that are drawn to spellcasting. Sure, the wizard might kill 1-2 monsters with a spell, but casting that spell draws 3-4 more, and so on, and so forth. He might work out some plan in which he actually *purposefully* draws a bunch of monsters into a killzone where his allies can take them out with more mundane attacks.
Also, keep it consistent: If there are other spellcasters in the party, they suffer the same drawbacks. It might not be as bad for them if they're not pure wizards like him, but having the others diminished a little bit will make him feel less singled out.
Try to come up with a cool ways to challenge him without making him feel irrelevant or totally hammered by DM fiat.
Cheers |
Erik Scott de Bie
'Tis easier to destroy than to create.
Author of a number of Realms novels (GHOSTWALKER, DEPTHS OF MADNESS, and the SHADOWBANE series), contributor to the NEVERWINTER CAMPAIGN GUIDE and SHADOWFELL: GLOOMWROUGHT AND BEYOND, Twitch DM of the Dungeon Scrawlers, currently playing "The Westgate Irregulars" |
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Galuf the Dwarf
Senior Scribe
USA
571 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jun 2013 : 12:55:39
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| What about the Balhannoth from the (3.5 Edition) Monster Manual IV? |
Galuf's Baldur's Gate NPC stats: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8823
Galuf's 3.5 Ed. Cleric Domains: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=14036
Galuf's Homebrew 4th Edition Races: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=13787
Galuf's Homebrew Specialty Priest PrCs: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=14353
Galuf's Forgotten Realms Heralds and Allies thread: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8766 |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11809 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jun 2013 : 14:55:06
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| The Karanok family of Luthcheq make for a great anti-wizard group. You can make any kind of anti-arcane NPC and stick them with them. Make a group of them so that not every one has the same schtick. Have some of them be rogue-assassin types, others anti-wizard tanks, then throw in witchweed and some anti-magical "pets" as well. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jun 2013 : 16:55:47
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There are also the Halruaan Magehounds from Shining South.
Both Phaerimm and Sharn should be obvious choices. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 08 Jun 2013 16:56:13 |
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Renin
Learned Scribe
USA
290 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jun 2013 : 22:29:43
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I just like to put those guys through a gambit of all day into night, no rest hounding pursuing enemies.
Let's see how big and bad you are with only an ice knife spell and a wand of water breathing after the orog riding fiendish dire wolves catch up to you after your 36 hour retreat down the mountainside which was sanctified to not allow interdimensional travel or summoning spells. HA! |
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Nicolai Withander
Master of Realmslore
Denmark
1093 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jun 2013 : 23:32:40
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quote:
Originally posted by Erik Scott de Bie
Pro DM tip: In your haste to challenge the PC, don't go overboard and just render his character useless or stripped of all his power. And certainly don't do so vindictively--even if the PC is breaking your game, he still shouldn't feel picked on or bullied by his trusty DM.
Not recharging spells is a great one, but don't spring it on him when he's at his lowest, when he had every reason to expect he'd get his magic back. Build it up gradually: a few spell slots denied here and there, maybe spell level rolled randomly (depending on what spells he can cast: d4, d6, d8, d10?). And he is just cumulatively losing spells and not necessarily sure why.
Consider putting him in a situation where he can use his magic, but it's an inefficient or unlikely solution. Say he's fighting a golem that is not only immune to most magic but actively charges up when it consumes magic. (I believe stone and iron golems do this in 3.5? It's been a while since I looked up those stats.) A golem that takes 1/4 damage from offensive spells but gets attack, AC, and speed bonuses whenever it gets hit by magic? Pretty scary.
Or the party may be in an area filled with creatures that are drawn to spellcasting. Sure, the wizard might kill 1-2 monsters with a spell, but casting that spell draws 3-4 more, and so on, and so forth. He might work out some plan in which he actually *purposefully* draws a bunch of monsters into a killzone where his allies can take them out with more mundane attacks.
Also, keep it consistent: If there are other spellcasters in the party, they suffer the same drawbacks. It might not be as bad for them if they're not pure wizards like him, but having the others diminished a little bit will make him feel less singled out.
Try to come up with a cool ways to challenge him without making him feel irrelevant or totally hammered by DM fiat.
Cheers
I will indeed make sure it is still fun, and nobody feels hunted or picked on. You bring up an important point which I will follow! |
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MalariaMoon
Learned Scribe
324 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jun 2013 : 15:08:33
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| Not monsters per se, but remember the preponderance of wild and dead magic zones can certainly throw spanners in the works of spellcasters. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36798 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jun 2013 : 16:04:50
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I think something simple, like a golem, that can shrug off most magic, would be the most effective. Judging purely by some of the commentary I've seen here and on the WotC forums (when I was still active there), a lot of people don't think of the indirect attacks all that readily -- so something that can shrug off the direct attacks is really going to throw a lot of players for a loop.
I recall once someone even asked about fighting a golem, precisely because of the way it is tough to attack directly -- this person simply couldn't perceive of any other way to fight it. |
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!  |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7989 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jun 2013 : 23:56:48
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And yet another opportunity for me to rather shamelessly spread my wonderfully contagious little Typo affliction!
I promise that if this doesn't eventually render your wizard afraid of his own powers then it'll cause the other PCs (at least, those who intend to survive) to shut him down. And it's curable. Mostly. Kinda. |
[/Ayrik] |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11809 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jun 2013 : 00:03:27
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quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
And yet another opportunity for me to rather shamelessly spread my wonderfully contagious little Typo affliction!
I promise that if this doesn't eventually render your wizard afraid of his own powers then it'll cause the other PCs (at least, those who intend to survive) to shut him down. And it's curable. Mostly. Kinda.
LOL, I'm never playing in your game Ayrik. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Kyrel
Learned Scribe
151 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jun 2013 : 11:14:42
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| As utterly entertaining as I find your Typo affliction Ayrik, if I were playing the affected mage you describe in the post you linked to, I'd probably give very strong considderations to multi-classing out of the Wizard class at the first possible opportunity, and simply accept that my character's spellflinging carreer was probably behind him. That being said, I'll still nick your idea for possible use at a suitable time *LOL* |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7989 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jun 2013 : 23:40:10
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| Well, back to OP ... what's wrong with just using monster types which have high Magic Resistance? Dragons and fiends and higher undead are the classic adversaries of this type, but there's plenty of almost-ignored oddball cheap mobs which can do the job well enough. A subterranean dead-magic zone overlapping an entrenched kobold legion can cause a wizard plenty of hurt. |
[/Ayrik] |
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A wizards worst nightmare
