Monster Quality Question: The Orc Warchief has the quality “Divine protection from mortal harm.” What does that mean? What counts as mortal harm? Has anyone used this monster before?
I take it to mean that things that normally threaten mortals – stabs, broken bones, punctured organs, burned flesh, poison – have no effect on this monster. Won’t players rail against this? Is this fair? How are the adventurers supposed to kill this monster and take his treasure?
The only solution I can think of is the “divine” part of this quality; let the players beseech the gods and ask for their own divine help, and let a god that rivals the Warcheif’s aid them in the killing of this particularly tough monster.
Never used it, but I think it’s awesome and totally would use it. It’s no more “unfair” than a ghost that can’t be harmed by punching/killing/stabbing. Better think of other ways to harm it. HEY AVON SPOUT SOME LORE.
As for what it means and how to circumvent it, I think that’s all right there in the description: divine protection from mortal harm. You wanna kill this big bad? Better find a way to remove that divine protection. Or bring some more-than-mortal harm to the table.
Google “16hp Dragon”. It should help.
I’ve read it, and I get that fiction comes first – Fictionally, the Orc Warchief has protection from mortal harm, and it’s from a divine source, but that’s pretty exceptional. It sort of defies the common definition of monster, in that it’s something that you can battle and overcome, harming it in one way or another.
I’m trying to think of a movie monster/villain who was literally immune to any mortal harm, and I struggle to do so. Wolverine is the closest thing I can think of, and that is hilarious.
Oh no I dropped all these granite boulders on Raknar the Bloodjaw. Logistically the horde may never free him from this impromptu tomb.
You think outside the box, Ben. Plus, that makes for an awesome future adventure where some orcs try to dig the buried and infamous warlord out of his ancient stoney tomb.
Maybe it means crucially mortal, like, it can’t be killed my physically harming it. So you can like, immobilize it under a boulder James Franco style, but it never dies. Until it gets old or sick or starves.
The Mummy, “You heard them, mortal weapons don’t work on this guy!” “Well, We will just have to find some immortal ones!”
Sounds like time for a ritual from the wizard, or perhaps the paladin with his blessed weapon? Present the players with the problem, they will solve it before you know it.
Trick or manipulate said Warchief into betraying his god and thus losing his divine protection.
Sounds like an ideal recurring villain to me.
A suit of armor gives me protection from mortal harm. PROTECTION and IMMUNITY are two separate things.
It could be as simple as a divine aura that grants +2 armor.
Think greek mythology titans. They were so powerful the best the gods could do was to contain them. Maybe this warchief cant be harmed but only contained or banished
I wouldn’t ditch it. I would make sure the divine nature of his protection became blatant, at least the first time he takes a serious blow or gets lit on fire or what have you.
Have you ever played the video game Iji (PC) or Breakdown (XBox)? Both have ‘unstoppable’ bosses that the player has to (and can) stop through non-traditional application of learned skills. They sit in my mind as some of the better video games I’ve ever played, mostly for those boss fights.
It is fair, as fair as say a wizard whipping up a volcano under the warlords feet using ritual. As fair as the fighter dictating the orc warchief will die. Anyone who found leverage could parely the orc into becoming a pacifist. Using the moves for any class this orc is not “unstoppable” he may be unkillble but never an obstacle that cannot be overcome. Also, the orc is strong but a group of men could hold him down and lock him in chains, bury him in a well, etc. .