Robin D. Laws - Blood Elementals (Batch 1 of 2)
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Blood Elementals (Batch 1 of 2)
The gaming hut has been very theoretical around here lately. In a gesture of self-correction, I present you with some monsters. These guys are statted up for 4E and gave the local group an entertaining work-out last week—though no one was reduced to the brink of death. As you’ll see, their gimmick lies in the creation of a special terrain condition which they then interact with in various ways. This motivated the PCs to move around the battlefield, and to move their opponents.
These blood elementals differ from the creature seen in Open Grave, which is more on the blobby end of the spectrum. I gave them acid instead of necrotic damage because the local campaign is very undead-based and a variation in damage type seemed called for. They could easily be switched back to necrotic.
Gorehound Blood Elemental Level 12 Brute
Large elemental humanoid, XP 700
Initiative +14 Senses Perception +8
HP 148; Bloodied 74
AC 24; Fortitude 26; Reflex 25; Will 25
Immune gaze; illusion; Resist 15 acid; Vulnerable 10 radiant
Speed 6
m Coagulated Smash (at-will; standard) • Acid
+19 vs AC; 2d8 + 5 damage, and ongoing 5 acid damage (save ends)
Furious Coagulation (recharge 5 6; standard) • Acid
+15 vs AC; 4d8 + 5 and ongoing 5 acid damage (save ends.)
Bloodspatter (at-will; no action)
When gorehound blood elemental is damaged by a melee attack, the attacker's square becomes bloodspattered terrain until end of encounter.
Bloodfeast (at-will; immediate reaction)
When gorehound blood elemental damages a creature occupying bloodspattered terrain, it regains 10 hit points.
Alignment Unaligned Languages --
Str 22 (+12) Dex 18 (+10) Wis 14 (+8)
Con 18 (+10) Int 11 (+6) Cha 12 (+7)
Sanguine Blood Elemental, Level 12 Controller
Medium elemental humanoid, XP 700
Initiative +9 Senses Perception +9
Blood Pulse aura 4; Any enemy beginning its turn within the aura and in bloodspattered terrain is dazed (save ends.)
HP 120; Bloodied 60
AC 26; Fortitude 24; Reflex 24; Will 24
Immune gaze; illusion; Resist 15 acid; Vulnerable 10 radiant
Speed 6
r Bloodspray (at-will; standard) • Acid
10; +17 vs AC; 2d6 + 5 and sanguine blood elemental may teleport target to any square of bloodspattered terrain within range.
R Pulsating Blood Spray (recharge 5 6; standard) • Acid
10; +17 vs AC; 4d8 + 5 and sanguine blood elemental may teleport target to any square of bloodspattered terrain within range.
m Coagulating Smother (at-will; standard) • Acid
+17 vs AC; 1d8 + 5
Bloodspatter (at-will; no action)
When Sanguine Blood Elemental is damaged by a melee attack, the attacker's square becomes bloodspattered terrain until end of encounter.
Alignment Unaligned Languages —
Str 16 (+9) Dex 16 (+9) Wis 16 (+9)
Con 16 (+9) Int 16 (+9) Cha 16 (+9)
Plasmic Blood Elemental Level 12 Minion Soldier
Medium elemental humanoid, XP 175
Initiative +11 Senses Perception +9
HP 1; a missed attack never damages a minion.
AC 28; Fortitude 25; Reflex 24; Will 24
Speed 6
M Arterial Disruption (at-will; standard) • Acid
+19 vs AC; 5 damage
Bloodspatter (at-will; no action)
When Plasmic Blood Elemental is damaged by a melee attack, the attacker's square becomes bloodspattered terrain until end of encounter.
Plasmic Regeneration (at-will; no action)
If reduced to 0 hit points while occupying bloodspattered terrain, returns to play at end of turn, as last creature in initiative order. If multiple plasmic blood elements return to play at the end of the same turn, they return to play in the order that they were reduced to 0 hit points.
Alignment Unaligned, Languages —
Str 22 (+12), Dex 16 (+9), Wis 16 (+9)
Con 16 (+9), Int 16 (+9), Cha 16 (+9)
The rest of the batch shows up tomorrow...
Tags: 4e, d&d, gaming hut
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![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/35194975/1935043) | | From: | ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) pond823 |
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| Date: | November 4th, 2009 03:58 pm (UTC) |
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Like 'em! And I can just paint my now out of level range Yellow Ochre models red to represent them :)
One thing...
m Coagulated Smash (at-will; standard) • Acid
+19 vs AC; 2d8 + 5 damage, and ongoing 5 necrotic damage (save ends)
Is that meant to be necrotic?
Thanks for spotting that.
Digging these terrain effects. I may have to downgrade these things to be dishonored bloodletting berserkers in my Viking game.
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/72136555/5953084) | | From: | nmccoy |
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| Date: | November 4th, 2009 07:08 pm (UTC) |
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One nitpick:
Bloodfeast (at-will; immediate reaction)
When gorehound blood elemental damages a creature occupying bloodspattered terrain, it regains 10 hit points.
By the rules, immediate reactions can't be used on a creature's own turn; it's a weird design corner that trips up pretty much everyone I know (including myself).
How would you nitpick this into correct form? Drop the timing reference? Move the text into the attack description?
I think that nixing both the "at-will" and "immediate reaction" descriptors would work. I've seen several monsters with generic powers that are always active.
| | From: | nmccoy |
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| Date: | November 4th, 2009 07:42 pm (UTC) |
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I'd template it like various other monsters' conditional effects, with no parenthetical, putting the once-per-round constraint into the text block if you want to preserve it.
Excerpt from Goblin Sharpshooter:
Combat Advantage
The goblin sharpshooter deals an extra 1d6 damage against any target it has combat advantage against.
Goblin Tactics (immediate reaction, when missed by a melee attack, at-will)
The goblin shifts 1 square.
Exactly the kind of thing I was thinking of.
| | From: | nmccoy |
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| Date: | November 6th, 2009 08:59 am (UTC) |
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Remember how I said that everyone makes this mistake? From the latest preview article: " Steal Appearance (immediate reaction, when the sivak draconian kills a humanoid; at-will)"...
The universal temptation to break this rule suggests that there ought to be a specific term for extra benefits you gain during your turn when particular conditions are met.
Conditional benefit maybe?
Steal Appearance (at-will; conditional benefit, when the sivak draconian kills a humanoid)
Edited at 2009-11-06 06:09 pm (UTC)
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/5654580/179498) | | From: | flwyd |
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| Date: | November 4th, 2009 08:19 pm (UTC) |
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Assuming the controller keeps hitting, it can essentially keep a character dazed for the entire combat. While sensible from a game balance standpoint, from a player's perspective, repeated dominate/stun/daze effects aren't much fun (in that order of unfunness). Fighting this guy, a character can either make an attack (probably ranged) or try to not be dazed. If the latter option is chosen, there's a good chance (especially if her AC is low) that she'll just end up being dazed again, removing most opportunities for interesting and creative combat approaches.
That's a big assumption, though. He won't hit anywhere close to every single time against a party appropriate to his level.
Since the Sanguine's daze effect is an aura, doesn't this make the possibility of a continual daze more likely? A PC wouldn't even be able to run away from it, provided the elemental makes even a basic attempt to follow. A PC could only take 1 movement action while dazed, and the elemental can move 6, and still has a range of 4 on the aura...
While I don't have a problem with targeting an effect specifically at melee or ranged fighters, I do agree that this can be a potential pain/fun killer for the PCs affected. It would be a trick I wouldn't pull often...
Does the big dependence on creating special terrain for these monsters limit their re-use. One good encounter or "knowledge" skill check before engagement could limit their utility afterwards, no? Just curious, because this seems an interesting aspect of 4e monster design that really leans on monsters being a puzzle to be solved, and with that notion I'm surprised we don't have a slight variability in challenge rating/xp granted for monsters (before you discover their sekrets 1200xp, after you know how to p0wn them, 800xp...) in the game...
Thoughts?
These creatures are more fun if you know what they do, because you can then adjust to try to move out of the terrain. More knowledge of tactical choices = more tactical choices = more fun. I didn't have to worry about the group failing their knowledge roll because one of the players has invested in these up the wazoo, which is conveniently reliable for this purpose. Otherwise I'd have seen to it that their new patrons told them about the blood elementals.
If they're one-use, it would be because the effect they have on the fight is very specific. But then a strength of 4e is that you can easily whip up a passel of new monsters around a concept you like. Especially with the new and extremely improved monster builder.
You make a good point. I was thinking of it from the point of view of difficulty. When you don't know the efficient way to approach creatures, the encounters are more dangerous, and part of the challenge is then to discover how to deal effectively. Handing the players this info easily may be a choice that some GM's follow, but others may decide that it's better to zealously "hide" such information from players unless they can through the course of play discover it just as they would be forced to uncover secret doors, traps, puzzles, and so on.
And, I agree about your point about encounter/monster building in 4e. That is, indeed, one thing I really like about it in comparison to previous versions of the game.
Our group that's a long time bunch of HERO players seem to be quite smitten with at the moment. We're having a fair amount of fun with it.
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/17282096/3813106) | | From: | gbsteve |
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| Date: | November 5th, 2009 03:37 pm (UTC) |
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Would using a flaming weapon avoid the bloodsplatter problem, through cauterisation?
Fire is a damage type in 4e, so you could do that. If these were published creatures, you'd have to ask yourself if the added fillip was worth the complexity tax.
"When creature is damaged by a non-fire melee attack..."
The best thing about these is that "bloodspattered" terrain calls for some way to mark it on the map. You get to design new tokens or even totally new terrain and change it out. I love when combat does things visually to the map.
Agreed, although it can get a bit fiddly; encounters with spreading fire, for example, sounded a lot more like fun to me than they actually ended up being. But having concrete changes to the map provides fun, yes.
Counters would have been a pain. Red marker on dry erase battlemat was fun. |
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