Problem with a couple of RoW barbs w/ Adamantine Armour

[Judging__Eagle]

So, I have these two Barbarians that I can barely hurt due to their combo'ing RoW barb DR + Adamantine Dr to have a DR = 3/2 lvl + 2 or say.... DR 11/Adamantine (7), 5 (-) at lvl 7.

(+1 per BaB, is +1/1 lvl; +1 per 2 lvls = +1/2 lvl, so +3/2 lvls, the +2 is base RoW barb DR).

My best 'bets' right nowa re you is to probably use monsters that deal special status effects (like Energy Drain) as combos on their normal hits (Some Necromentals from Libirs Mortis were pretty handy at making them get some 'suck' in combat for once that was noticable) or straight spell damage (scorching rays and such).

Any other advice?

This is for very RP-lite sessions; I just get a player to give me a D% result; I check 'a' MM and find something that fits the random encounter table.

I use a table based on the DMG Random Encounter Tables; except that I typed in stuff like:
67-69: 1d4+1 CR X [Outsiders]

Then go from there looking for some outsiders that are the right CR.

I've actually gotten RP encounters this way.


Usually, that's the opposite of what happens in some gaming groups.

Apparently some groups turn potential RP scenarios into combat scenarios.

My group turns random combat encoutners into random RP encounters.

Anyway; some advice for stuff around CR 7 or stuff to throw at CR 7 PCs or a place to look would be appreciated.

[Catharz]

1) If the creature deals a lot of damage in one hit, just have it attack.
2) If it has adamantine weaponry, just have it attack.
3) If it has ranged magical attacks, have it try to keep its distance and use those as much as possible.


Possible encounters:
Hound archon [RoW] monk 3. Has DR 10/evil, has a stance which beats all DR, decent AC, and (to be really obnoxious) greater teleport at will. It's also always under the effects of a maximal aid spell.
Her friend is a Bralani monk 1 (Zen archer -- Arrows of every material).

An animated stone pool with legs (basass hardness, trample), carrying a water naga (sorcerer 7).

A choker Assassin 5 and Ethereal marauder assassin 4 aberration assault team.

A Half-fiend gargoyle planar conduit 1.

[Surgo]

I've been under the impression that damage reduction doesn't stack, and you're supposed to just use the highest source that applies. Am I incorrect here?

[Username17]

DR doesn't generally work against typed damage. So a couple of shocker lizards really will nut-punch your heroes quite well.

-Username17

[Judging__Eagle]

Yeah, I didn't think about smaller stuff that has energy based attacks.

I think that a "Raid the swamp for Shocker Lizard legs" mission will be a funny sort of 'seek the dangerous delicacies' sort of mission.

Surgo, DR stacks, however monsters with 'mixed' DR; like say a Vampire (DR 10/Silver and Magic) get multiplied DR which turns into DR 20/Silver (10), Magic (10).

At least, that's how I've understood it to be.

I was using Awakened Fire Giant skeletons in adamantine armour with adamantine weapons as part of a "kill the evil cleric" series of missions.

I can't use them all the time though, since it gets sort of boring.

Hmm, I could use the combat trooper npc class I wrote up, those guys do a heck of a lot of damage.


Although, really... npc 'monsters' shouldn't do so much damage as be able to take a lot of it instead. That might be the video game player in me though.

Low lvl D&D combat is just so random that anyone can kill anything of CR 1 or less on a decent roll of: "I hit it, now I roll damage".

[Koumei]

1194097565[/unixtime]]
Low lvl D&D combat is just so random that anyone can kill anything of CR 1 or less on a decent roll of: "I hit it, now I roll damage".

Yeah, and that applies to PCs, too. It's odd, seeing someone start as a commoner who got sick of farming potatoes, then 20 levels later they're a completely different person, reshaping galaxies.

[virgil]

Is there some kind of source I wasn't told about, like a house rule that Frank uses, in regards to damage reduction. The SRD pretty explicitly states that Damage Reduction doesn't stack (9th, 10th, and last paragraphs).

[SunTzuWarmaster]

Going with Frank's theme: so a couple of Fire Elementals could take the wind of of their sails excellently.

Spherelock (Warlock that doesn't suck) can throw reliable fire damage and has some solid SLA's (the Fiendish feat to give permanent Greater Invisibility is a must).

A dragon may actually be a level-appropriate challenge when they can man it up through a full attack (which, by the way, is awesome).

Digestor pack. 'nuff said

Gray Render if you are looking for a solid monster to power attack them.

Nessian Warhound is the hellhound on crack that does fire damage every time that it attacks.

Spectres and vampires do energy drain, but you already knew that.

The Yrthak have always been annoying as flying creatures with ray attacks that deal sonic damage while being immune to dizziness/blinding/gaze attacks.

Aside from this, you can always throw something that simply uses a flaming/screaming/whatever sword at them. Or give them the Sneak Attack rogue throwing vials of acid.

[CalibronXXX]

A Summoner using Summon Frost Beast to summon a bunch of Frost Beast Hippogriffs or Lions and use the Frost Beast option that gives an additional d6 of cold damage on every hit. Make sure to give him the Ashbound(ECS) feat(in addition to Augment Summoning of course) for the extra attack bonus.

[Username17]

In our material we do indeed overturn the rule that DR doesn't stack because that rule is retarded. Seriously, there are a number of things in the game which hand out DR incrementally - Barbarians especially - and making only best DR count completely nerfs all of them.

However also of note is that DR/ X and Y is not DR/X and DR/Y, it's a single number which is only negated by an attack which is both X and Y. Using a weapon which is merely magical or merely silver is pointless against a Vampire.

-Username17

[Judging__Eagle]

Oh, okay.

So sources of DR stack, and each original source has to be negated by an attack for it to be removed for DR calculation.

So, a Swordwraith Paragon 3 Barbarian 8, with Great Fortitude and an Adamantine Breastplate would get a DR of 10/Magic, DR 11/Adamantine, DR 5/- and DR 6/-.

So, does this turn into DR 32/Magic and Adamantine (11/-) or something else?

Also, it's seriously smarter to use non-adamantine armour wearing NPCs versus the PCs, since they almost always use adamantine weapons.

I might have a bunch of "ash" Simulacrum wearing charcoal-wrought Igneous Hauberks that deal fire damage instead of Cold the way that the Rime Hauberk does.

Mostly b/c on the the players undertook a mission to get changed into having the [Cold] subtype applied to her character. Right now she's already got a Frost Salamander that follows her (it can't actually hurt her, and its cold damage and cold aura don't phase her character either) and I'm loathe to just keep heaping more cold-related gear on her char.

[CalibronXXX]

1194120945[/unixtime]]However also of note is that DR/ X and Y is not DR/X and DR/Y, it's a single number which is only negated by an attack which is both X and Y. Using a weapon which is merely magical or merely silver is pointless against a Vampire.

-Username17

You're talking about monsters in the rules that get stuff like that, like the Vampire in your example or higher CR Outsiders; not as if a True Fiend 7 wearing an Adamantine Breastplate would get a total DR of 14 when hit by a normal attack, but only negate 7 points of damage when hit with a weapon with that was either adamantine or Holy, and have their DR ignored by a Holy adamantine weapon, right?