D&D Core Epic PC Killers PART 2
This is the requested part 2 of Core Epic PC killers, I went a bit more creative with this one and judged NPC difficulty on the 4th edition base levels, Anything below epic level I decided to tweak and change accordingly to possibly give it an epic feeling while still staying true to the lore behind the monsters.
Lich, Eladrin Wizard.
"A Lich is an undead spellcaster created by means of an ancient ritual. Wizards and other arcane spellcasters who choose this path to immortality escape death by becoming undead. But prolonged existence in this state often drives them mad"
A Lich can be quite a powerful being, an Eladrin Lich even more powerful as its original affinity with magic gets scaled to disproportionate measures as the previous Eladrin Wizard is becoming of a Lich. As a DM you will want to have the most strongest of horrors in store for PCs willing to fight a Lich, such horrors can include, Boneclaws, Flameskulls, Devourers, Myrmridon Ghouls and Abyssal Ghouls, Dread Wraiths and harbingers. Just these alone will allow you to form a challenging and deadly encounter, if you really want to go over kill, include an Atropal, since it is as beefy as the Lich and heals all nearby undead every round. As a player you need to be aware that the Lich can die, however unless you destroy its Phylactery, which contains its lifeforce it will continue to re-appear and possibly attack the party. The Phylactery could be an ornate boss chess in the same room as the Lich or it could be a little lockbox hundreds of miles under the sea. If you are going to fight a Lich, purchasing holy scrolls, spells and items will help you a lot, holy water can work, if you have a Paladin then the encounter should become 10x easier.
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Vampire Lord, Arachnomancer.
"Sustained by a terrible curse and a thirst for mortal blood, vampires dream of a world in which they live in decadence and luxury, ruling over kingdoms of mortals who exist only to sate their darkest appetites"
Vampire Lords can be rather troublesome, especially if you give them extremely annoying templates, for example, an Arachnomancer that summons DemonWebs. As the DM using a Vampire lord against an epic party is better when you give the Vampire Lord a Sub-template, my favourite would have to be the ArachnoMancer template capable of summoning DemonWebs. Not only does the party have to deal with a horde of vampire spawn, but also deadly venom and web immobilization, also keep in mind characters who take the vampire template tend to keep old spells as it counts towards being a multi-class. If you really want to get creative having the vampire ally with other undead or even having his own Death Knight bodyguards would help. As a Player you will want to kill off as much of the spawn before dealing with the Vampire Lord directly, however if you feel confident you could focus all your attacks on the Lord which would deal with any summoning issues but you'd still have to finish off summons or deal with them picking away at you, which can be a big deal with the Arachnomancer template.
Swordwing Swarm
“Swordwings are supreme collectors, gathering rare items and arranging them in galleries within their cavernous lairs. A swordwings collection defines it as an individual. A typical swordwing favors one particular collectable, while crownwings keep multiple collections. Typical collectables include Skulls, weapons, gems, magic items, books, monster eggs, and victims' hearts”
A swordwing is a formidable foe, immediately classed as an epic level soldier, swordwings tend to inhabit the Underdark and live in clusters of tall nesting spires made from chewed up resources from the environment, these structures are extremely resilient to wear and tear. As a DM any party member holding anything of value that is considered a collectible even including their body parts, could be subject to a Swordwing attack, Swordwings will always attack in swarms of 5-10, sometimes led by a Crownwing that can mark an enemy for death increasing the damage done to the target by +10, Swordwings are very smart hunters and because of this know when to back out and when to retreat in flight as well as attack at the right time. Swordwings also are known to ally with Mindflayers as a promise of collectables as well as other powerful Underdark denizens such as Gibbering Orbs and Beholders making them an extremely formidable foe. As a player hiding in foliage, stealthing, smoke bombs or anything that obscures vision is your best chance against swordwings, as they will majority of the time lock party members into position, attempts to escape a Swordwing engaged in close combat triggers their sudden strike, allowing the Swordwing a free basic armblade attack. Rogues may find their passives to be quite useful when fighting a swordwing, proccing your roll to dodge and uncanny dodge when you need to escape.
Rakshasa
“Despite their bestial features, Rakshasas are clever, malicious and sophisticated. Although Rakshasas come in many varieties, they all share some commo traits, namely their feline heads, backward claws, and taste for luxury”
The Rakshasa are a very deceptive and malevolent race, they are very adept at illusionary magic and tend to hide their true forms, blending in many normal societies and usually taking up the occupation of a Noble, Merchant or Crime Lord. As a DM Rakshasas can be set up as a part of a major criminal syndicate or involved in a corrupt controversial organisation among the Nobility of a Kingdom or City. Rakshasa in combat are extraordinary in strength and agility, the lowest level Rakshasa being set to a level 15 warrior by default, the most formidable of them are the Rakshasa Dread Knights which can stand toe to toe with an undead Death Knight. Players can do their best against Rakshasa by being trained in insight or perception, or in the case of older skill stats, just having them ranked up good enough. The only unique thing towards a Rakshasa is their race and methods of stealth, once their stealth is broken you just fight them like any other normal combat encounter.
Slaad
“As creatures of pure entropy, slaad exist to create disorder. Their hold on reality is tenuous at best. Their thoughts are clouded with maddening images, they seem aware of things beyond other creatures perceptions, and they attack without provocation.”
Slaads reproduce by planting embryos in their victims. As each embryo grows, the host succumbs to the same madness that the Sladd do. Eventually the Embryo transforms into a slaad tadpole and burrows out of the hosts skull. Slaads will typically roam anywhere, they have no distinct purpose other than to cause chaos in the world and spread their seed. As a player Slaads can range from low level to epic, but every slaad has one attack that kills any PC, their chaos phage passive which implants an Embryo in the PC every time they get hit by the Slaad, if the PC fails the first save it will drive them mad when bloodied causing them to harm nearby allies and a 2nd failed saved will instantly kill the PC, staying at a distance helps and dispel disease also works to get rid of the phage before the tadpole grows.
Primordial Hydra
“A Hydra is a serpentine beast with many heads. It lurks in swamps and bogs and flooded caverns. Preying upon virtually anything that crosses its path”
The Primordial Hydra is the most strongest of the family, bearing 8 heads or even more it can spit flaming acid, attack 8 times or more a turn and instead of being stunned or dazed it just loses the ability to attack with one of its heads. As a DM you will want to put the PCs in a position which causes them to become boxed in, unable to retreat or make escape this will allow the Hydra to stick within reach, the Primordial Hydra can make up to 8 attacks, variating between its flaming spit and bite, to any enemies within bite range it immediately gains an opportunity attack against that target and any other target within the same range. As a player if your DM is boxing you into a very cramped environment in a swamp, bog or flooded area and you are aware that it may be an epic encounter, have everyone do nature and perception checks, the last thing you want is to encounter the Hydra when the barbarian or fighter is standing directly infront of it. Frost spells can be especially useful if the Hydra is still in the water, but it wouldn't hold it for long. Another option is to just leg it, A Primordial Hydra has the potential to instantly incapacitate a party member within the first round if lucky. If you're in dense forest, run deep into the forest after crippling the Hydra with a affliction spell or by using the environment, trying to fight a Primordial Hydra will most likely end up in someone dying, if the DM makes it strategically advanced then you're really ****** as it will rape your cleric or healer faster than the paladin can attempt to roll diplomacy against it.
Had to spend a bit of time on these ones, there's only so many epic monsters in the 4e Monster Manuals that prove a threat, for any future ones I'm going to end up having to use the previous Monster Manuals. Again if you have any requests post them in comments or PM me.
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