Has anyone actually run any campaigns or encounters using the Henchmen or Villains statblocks laid out in Minsc & Boo's Journal of Villainy? How did that go?
tl;dr Read the title.
I'm asking really because I'm after comments and feedback about how well designed/OP these monsters are. Spoilers below for people whose DMs might be running henchmen from the book.
Specifically, I wanted to port over a couple of the Henchmen to a campaign I'm running so I went to the henchmen whose CR was most appropriate for my campaign's current state and immediate future. I got to Edwin Odesseiron and thought he looked really cool (and later discovered that he's a villain from the Baldur's Gate games so there ought to be lots of inspiration for how to play him).
Then I read the statblock.
His Deal
I'm not sure if there's a way to play this guy in a combat encounter that doesn't either get him immediately killed or kill the party in a little over a round. Basically he's got incredibly low hitpoints (which is fine, he's a wizard... it would feel weird if he was super beefy) but can cast ninth level spells. Specifically he can cast Meteor Swarm.
And so can his Simulacrum. And the statblock specifies that he almost always travels with the simulacrum.
His Strength
So the obvious well thought out tactics for this guy seem like they would be to scry on the players, teleport to a location where he can seem from about 600ft to a mile away. Cast meteor swarm. Then have his simulacrum cast meteor swarm as well. And then... set his hell hounds on the bodies to just make absolutely sure the party of scrubs is dead.
Granted, this probably "wastes" his simulacrum's only ninth level spell slot. But if the party he's just murdered is high level enough then:
- it's probably worth it;
- the simulacrum isn't useless in the meantime as it still has other spells;
- they probably carry enough fancy gear on them that he can recover the costs fairly easily and have a new simulacrum up and running in a day or two.
His Weakness
On the other hand, if I decide not to just nuke them from orbit, then I don't know why a party at a level appropriate for taking on CR15 creatures wouldn't just remove him from existence in a fight. They'd be smart enough to try to target the guy over any minions he deploys with him (and he has shiny enough loot to tempt them to try even if they're not). At that tier of play, most parties are going to have solid artillery in the form of archers or magic users who can target him at the range his other abilities work at, even when there are plenty of melee minions to deal with. He's squishy enough that they could gank him in a round and then refocus on the minions.
I get that as a very senior henchman he shouldn't be immediately thrust into encounters with the party. He needs building toward. And he should be an important behind the scenes operator. But still... the statblock seems off to me.
Help?
So does anyone have suggestions?
- Is there something I'm missing that makes him a more reasonable encounter?
- Are there things you would do to make the potential double nuke less devastating?
- Are there specific tricks or circumstances you'd deploy (like terrain) to make him more resilient if he doesn't cast Meteor Swarm?
And how do people feel about the other henchmen?
Posted Nov 4, 2021, 5:01 PM UTC
The area before the statblock does mention that he lacks common sense, and is often undone by his own hubris and oversight. It also mentions how he has trouble getting along with pretty much anyone besides himself to the point of relying on the simulacrum for conversation, which means he basically completely lacks any differing points of view that may help cover the more obvious gaps in plans that someone of his abilities easily could if he considered them.
Yes, he could just toss Meteor Swarm and have his simulacrum do the same, but it seems the intention/expectation is that he would basically never do that, considering everything to be below him and not worth that effort, very likely keeping that mindset until it's already too late. His plans will often have those common sense gaps that he just doesn't realize or expect to possibly lead to failure that can be used by the party to avoid having to deal with his powers head-on. It also seems like he would usually not have any support besides his simulacrum, and if he did, very likely those people are not happy to be working for him, leaving another possible weakness to exploit.
All in all, it seems less of a character intended to be used for fighting, and more of a character for overall plans and schemes in the story that also has a statblock in case he ends up being thrown into a fight as well. I would focus my encounter building on encounters based on his plan, rather than encounters directly facing him. And if they do face him, I would not run him optimally but rather more like the typical "THATS IMPOSSIBLE" villain who can't fathom his plans have fallen apart because of a party so beneath his concern and reacts accordingly.
Thanks for the response! Imminently sensible!
I'd picked up on this but I think I discarded it as his Intelligence is very high. But I think you've got the right beat. Intelligence (in the D&D sense) doesn't preclude the outlandish arrogance required to think you can just toy with these adventurers. Having him provide non-optimal fights in the form of hirelings or unleashing the hellhounds seems like a good idea. It buys me a couple of encounters before there's a real 'oh shit' confrontation where he might need to do what you say.
This is also a good angle. Captured enemies would be quite willing to talk. Lots of drama in a can.
Thanks for the advice!
I mean I know people with advanced degrees and who have written multiple published papers who constantly put themselves in harm's way, like pulling out into traffic and tripping over their own two feet. These same people could design a working engine but if they tried to build it they would probably end up dead somehow. I went into nature with one and he wiped his rear with poison oak. There's definitely a difference between intellectual ability and common sense.
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