The strongest monster you've beaten without magic? D&D

OgreBattle · Post by **OgreBattle** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 4:08 am

Without being magic users or relying on magic items.

"+1 sword" can sorta count as a non-magical weapon. I asked a similar question on RPG.net and a lot of folks thought it was mundane enough to not count as 'really magical'

Corsair114 · Post by **Corsair114** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 5:02 am

Erm, not really played any TT D'n'D.

I did make Mephistopheles commit suicide by Diplomancing his oracle lover into telling me his true name so I could force himself to commit suicide on my first playthrough of Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark campaign, though.

ubernoob · Post by **ubernoob** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 5:08 am

OgreBattle wrote:Without being magic users or relying on magic items.

Since you rule out magic users, that rules out 80% of the "able to handle level appropriate enemies" classes. Since you rule out using magic items, that rules out pretty much the rest except for Vow of Poverty monks.

Like, honestly what besides a vow of poverty monk fits the criteria for your question and also does not instantly die the moment it faces an equal CR enemy? You're basically asking "tell me a story where you Mcguffin'd the BBEG"

RadiantPhoenix · Post by **RadiantPhoenix** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 5:11 am

I think my 3rd level Duskblade once killed some zombies without magic.

Then we fought some bandits and I broke out the color spray.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 5:39 am

My elf barbarian killed a minotaur once...

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 5:44 am

If Animal Companions don't count as magic, then I have any answer at all, which would be ogres, minotaurs, gangs of orcs and hobgoblins.

Otherwise I don't think I have an answer.

Dean · Post by **Dean** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 6:00 am

A Warblade of mine very barely beat a CR 6 Blue Dragon at, I think, 6th level. That is the highest CR I know of that I have fought with no magic and just hacking and slashing. It is also possible that the DM might have been fudging slightly but I can't know. It's your call whether Warblade maneuvers are magic.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 6:11 am

Actually, come to think of it, my elf barbarian's sword was adamantine and "double keen." So I'm not sure it counts.

Kaelik · Post by **Kaelik** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 6:14 am

Yeah, basically, you are saying that the character cannot be over level 4 because by then they would have magic items for sure, and they have to be something that kills things at level 4 without magic.

So basically, you are just asking what was the biggest thing that your barbarian charged. Because things can only be more difficult by being bigger or by having qualities that need magic to defeat, like flight.

RadiantPhoenix · Post by **RadiantPhoenix** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 6:15 am

Adamantine doesn't add anything against a Minotaur AFAIK, and if you didn't crit, Double Keen doesn't count either (assuming that means what I think it means).

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 6:38 am

Can't recall if I critted, and yeah, I guess adamantine wouldn't have added anything (and I would say that special materials should count as mundane unless they're, like, pure force or something). Given that the crit range on a "double keen" greatsword would be 13-20, I honestly probably *did* crit. Also it was a huge greatsword.

And all that said, I think there was some mtp there as well, since I specifically said "Well hell, it's got me pinned to the wall by it's horn, it's not like the head's going anywhere..."

ubernoob · Post by **ubernoob** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 7:07 am

Prak_Anima wrote:And all that said, I think there was some mtp there as well, since I specifically said "Well hell, it's got me pinned to the wall by it's horn, it's not like the head's going anywhere..."

ubernoob wrote:You're basically asking "tell me a story where you Mcguffin'd the BBEG"

I officially win this thread.

Neeeek · Post by **Neeeek** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 7:41 am

Well, I once had a character (IIRC Rogue 2/Cleric 1) who thought he one-shotted an adult Green Dragon. Someone else wished it dead is what actually happened, but as far as anyone could tell it was my weird con artist charlatan.

Of course, he kept doing insane shit, so at the end of the campaign his name was James "The holy and perpetually victorious" Cook, Slayer of Dragons, Bane of Kobolds, King of the Lizardmen, Lord of the Sea, Master of the Depths.

Username17 · Post by **Username17** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 7:46 am

I've taken out some CR 7ish creatures as a flask rogue. Technically acid and holy water flasks are standard equipment. So probably "Hill Giant" is my highest point without getting any real benefit from spells or magic items. After that of course, I would go into battle blinking and no further monsters count even if I soloed them (something that a 3e/3.5 Rogue does pretty often when there are multiple enemies because when you're doing $Texas damage and the other party members have shit to do you end up killing a lot of enemies by yourself).

I've also taken out quite a few enemies as a Cleric Archer without owning any magic items or casting any spells by just having long lasting buffs going and murdering everything with mundane equipment benefiting from greater magic weapon and spikes. I kind of think that shouldn't count.

-Username17

shadzar · Post by **shadzar** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 7:47 am

Drowned a vampire in a river once.

K · Post by K » Sat Jan 18, 2014 8:03 am

I killed a yeth hound with a rope and a long spear once.

Avoraciopoctules · Post by **Avoraciopoctules** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 8:32 am

My dwarf killed some midlevel demons by dropping several tons of rock on them. Then he did the same thing later on in a controlled environment when somebody else was chain-binding minions, but I'm not sure it counts when they were stuck in a magical binding circle.

Engineering can be like magic in terms of force multiplication, I guess.

TiaC · Post by **TiaC** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 8:34 am

I've seen a hulking hurler kill some pretty impressive things.

OgreBattle · Post by **OgreBattle** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 9:01 am

K wrote:I killed a yeth hound with a rope and a long spear once.

How was the rope used?

I'm surprised there aren't any "I poisoned ___" answers yet.

As mentioned, a +1 weapon of DR bypassing can count, though completely non magical counts even more.

Yeah, sending your pets/tiny men to kill things also counts as a "no magic" kill, as long as they aren't reliant upon magic themselves.

K · Post by K » Sat Jan 18, 2014 9:33 am

OgreBattle wrote:
K wrote:I killed a yeth hound with a rope and a long spear once.
How was the rope used?

Through an unlikely series of Use Rope and Strength checks, I lassoed his head, pulled him in with a pillar as a fulcrum, and then tied his head to the pillar using the bind action. He couldn't make bite checks to eat the rope, so I bashed him with a long spear until dead.

It was during a RPGA game. The DM was kinda floored especially considering that the rest of party was running because of fear and caught in entangling vines.

Grek · Post by **Grek** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 10:31 am

Probably the strongest would be killing a Dire Tiger as a horse archer. In principle, there's nothing stopping you from taking out an iron golem or even some of the monsters from the D&D Jokebook the same way, but you'd be hard pressed to find someone who'd actually done it in a campaign.

Juton · Post by **Juton** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 12:58 pm

I had a minmaxed barbarian kill a Fire Giant once with no equipment other than a club. I think it was around level 11. It was pretty decisive but I rolled really well.

erik · Post by **erik** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 1:41 pm

If a cleric archer not actively casting counts then in RPGA I downed all sorts of stuff using a halfling Druid/fighter with a +1 lance and a dire bat mount companion. Dragons and foes from RHoD (but some I had other PC assistance with), some sort of neutered dread wraith (I think it was pegged as cr 10 but obviously the +1 weapon was key) and at level 4 stone giants (that was pre- dire bat).

Edit: trying to remember how the hell I beat the dread wraithish thing and I wonder if the DM failed to make my critter companion auto fear. I do not remember.

Ah it came back to me. We had some bullshit single use buff item things so magic was definitely used. Oops. Was still a damn close thing as it was partnered with a FULLY buffed cleric with a pimped out keen/imp crit scythe that dealt $TEXAS damage.

virgil · Post by **virgil** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 2:44 pm

My old group used double criticals and one-shotted this level 8 ogre barbarian with a mundane bow and arrow. I had a 10th level fighter with a +2 bow & adamantine arrows who one-rounded a stone golem; I had other gear, but none of it applied to that fight.

Josh_Kablack · Post by **Josh_Kablack** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 6:32 pm

Whoa.

Between other systems, being one of the primary MCs, a tendency to get roped into being the healbot, and an eventual withdrawl from TTRPGs, I don't think I've actually played a non-caster in D&D since uh 2001.

So, probably the most powerful critter I personally took down as a PC in D&D was that Ogre with the Gnolls in the abandoned fort when the party was level 2 in Gator's 3.0 game -- and that was an ugly fight where we nearly lost half the party and totally needed healing magic immediately afterwards, so I'm not even sure it counts.

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The strongest monster you've beaten without magic? D&D

The strongest monster you've beaten without magic? D&D

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