Hello everyone.

I am a first-time GM and I currently polishing my mission in order for it to be smooth and entertaining.

The plot came to the point when I picked Necron Cryptek from Black Crusade as BBEG.

Here are his stats.

I will adapt his stats in case he will be too hard for the players to fight against, but my main question is how do I know NOW if this is a challenging boss fight for 1st lvl 4-5 people? There is no threat value since it's not DH, but otherwise I don't know if he's weak or good for them.

Also, what will a melta bomb do to this Necron? I have one hidden as rare loot to assist them in this fight.

I have a couple of other creatures in my mission from BC so general skill to know if they are threat or not will be handy.

Thanks in advance.

So this guy is fairly standard in terms of power level, don't see anything flying out at me with his abilities. Stat are on the ok side for a technically-minded character, if maybe his Ag is a tad high as is his Fel and Per. He's obviously missing a shitton of skills, though I assume this is a purely combat statblock and other skills you will RP him as having regardless (i.e. Lores, Intimidation, Command, etc.)

His weapon is... alright, nothing spectacular. The range attack is interesting and would definitely help allies around him, of which I assume he will have plenty.

The BQ-Power Field is going to be the main difficulty here, negating 80% of attacks is a fine way for dealing with nigh-on everything, though there are ways the players can just **** him like with that Core Rulebook item that disables shields.

All in all, he's standard power, don't expect any CSM characters to die here or have much trouble with his attacks though it will be a pretty cinematic fight with his abilities. Don't forget to add copious Warriors, Immortals and some Canoptek constructs in the mix to keep the battle flowing and interesting.

The range attack is interesting and would definitely help allies around him, of which I assume he will have plenty.

I thought he alone would be a challenge to 1-level acolytes. What does this necron need to be challenging to fight? Handful of scarabs?

Also, will a melta-bomb pierce through his power field?

Here what I have for the Necrons I've used so far in my DH2 campaign. Still in the process of converting more over.

I felt like they were pretty well-balanced. I'm considering making all of the Vengeful's one value lower, but I'm unsure. Perhaps I'm just rolling badly.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3fifQ6yLuJUSWlyZjRqNXBsZjA/view?usp=sharing

(When I'm done converting I'll actually make a book-like supplement/expansion.)

Hopefully this is of use to you in your own makings!

For the Tremorstave, I'd look to the similarly-functioning hammer in Enemies Beyond. (While I hold that the balance and creativity of the supplements are utter trash, it could be useful as a more streamlined inspiration.)

OH this is dark heresy!

Derp, I thought you were saying Black Crusade.... nah dude, this guy is plenty strong for Dark Heresy acolyte warbands at any level besides like, full on Power Armor and meltaguns.

Even so though, adding Warriors, Scarabs, Wraiths, etc. and giving the PCs some allies to duke it out in the background can be really cinematic.

Yeah, this guy is effectively pretty nasty. It'll take 16 damage to get through his armour/toughness. From there, he regenerates 5 of that each turn. His weapon is above average, which means he'll probably scythe through your Acolytes if they are not careful/use cover adequately. The meltabomb is going to do some damage if they can manage to hit him with it, an average of 22 damage versus his 8 Toughness means 14 points gets through; given a few turns he could regenerate that back, however. If you max out the damage at 32, you end up doing 24 points of damage, which still doesn't kill him in one hit, or even put him into criticals by itself. Unless your group has weapons they can rely on to get through 16 Armour/Toughness (krak, plasma, melta, etc.), this is going to be a rather difficult fight.

Thanks everyone for the replies!

Should haywire grenades somehow mess with his power field? I was planning to do that or either make him immobile for turn/half-turn on successfull hit.

Hwywire grenades do absolutely nothing against Necrons. These are creatures that eat, quite literally, electromagnetic radiation for breakfast. Add to that the fact that he's a Cryptek, and he may even find a way to make a Haywire Field empower him.

Do not f*ck with the techno-science (goddammit GW...) of the Crons.

Do not f*ck with the techno-science (goddammit GW...) of the Crons.

Well, that's a challenge then.

Also, the final fight is going to be underground in a mine. First, how to invent the chance of tremorstave ranged attack shattering the whole place and forcing acolytes to flee? Second, is fighting the only way to stop this Necron or there could be an alternative of shutting him down (except collapsing the whole mine)?

Yeah, this guy is effectively pretty nasty. It'll take 16 damage to get through his armour/toughness. From there, he regenerates 5 of that each turn. His weapon is above average, which means he'll probably scythe through your Acolytes if they are not careful/use cover adequately. The meltabomb is going to do some damage if they can manage to hit him with it, an average of 22 damage versus his 8 Toughness means 14 points gets through; given a few turns he could regenerate that back, however. If you max out the damage at 32, you end up doing 24 points of damage, which still doesn't kill him in one hit, or even put him into criticals by itself. Unless your group has weapons they can rely on to get through 16 Armour/Toughness (krak, plasma, melta, etc.), this is going to be a rather difficult fight.

Agreed. This isn't a fight starting characters have realistic chance of winning outside of GM handwaving the creature's intelligence and having it fall for some plan to have it jump into a volcano. A regular necron would likewise defeat them easily. It's like the movie The Terminator. Remember how the t-100 wrecks the entire police force?

Remember how the t-100 wrecks the entire police force?

The team is going to have a melta bomb for this (if they find it) and lots of krak grenades since it's a working mine they will be fighting in. I guess they will manage and I am not there to kill the first party I lead.

an average of 22 damage versus his 8 Toughness means 14 points gets through

Not quite true. The damage roll of a meltabomb (6d10) averages 33, but the actual damage done against 8 TB does not average 33 - 8 = 25. The average result is in fact slightly higher, though in this case the difference is small. If you just calculate 33 - 8, what you're actually doing is calculating the average of 6d10 - 8. But if you roll six 1's, or five 1's and one 2, that would work out to -2 or -1. However, you can't actually cause negative damage, so what you should be calculating the average of is max(6d10 - 8, 0), which is more difficult.

That was my bad, actually. I was calculating with the meltagun stats, not melta-bomb. The meltagun has the base +12 damage to it.

So, taking into account all the above, what would be the best way to fight him? I guess, krak grenades and hot-shot las weapons? And, of course, the mentioned melta bomb.

Lots of allies, as he will not be alone. A Cryptek would have at least a few dozen warriors on hand at all times, and a legion at his call if he needs it. This is sort of threat Space Marine Battle Companies are called into fight.

Not to mention that in space, he would have a personal barge of some sort, probably no larger than a frigate of the Imperium, but a deadly ship nonetheless and one that can instantly disengage from combat.

Lots of allies, as he will not be alone. A Cryptek would have at least a few dozen warriors on hand at all times, and a legion at his call if he needs it. This is sort of threat Space Marine Battle Companies are called into fight.

Well, I can make him alone since I am a GM.Obviously there is no need for his support against 1-lvl Acolytes.

I am asking about the tactics on shutting him down.

If you're not going to make him appear as he would IC, then choose a different archetype. Necrons are a hug step for a campaign, they're a point-of-no-return sort of development that brings a whole new dimension to the world.

If you're not going to make him appear as he would IC, then choose a different archetype. Necrons are a hug step for a campaign, they're a point-of-no-return sort of development that brings a whole new dimension to the world.

Okay, could you suggest another Necron that would be challengeable alone?

What about Necron Pariahs? They are interesting to use as they are converted humans and I could throw him stats of a Lychguard with custom skills and traits. However, Lychguard seem to be way deadlier than that Cryptek above... I don;t know how they will keep range of his scythe.

Of course you can handwave and make anything you want as the GM, but that doesn't mean you should. Ultimately it's your decision but I warn that you need to have a solid idea of what kind of campaign you're wanting to run, and what precedents you might not want to set for your players.

You mentioned that your player-characters are base-level-1 characters? With only the initial starting 1,000xp? I doubt they could even beat a single Necron Warrior; an example of which you can see in the download I linked above.

My initial instincts are telling me that you might need to rethink your campaign a little, but obviously I don't know everything, perhaps you can explain more about your campaign and it's plot so that we can provide you with some reasonable alternatives/suggestions rather than guessing at what particular statblock would be viable?

Just my two cents.

My initial instincts are telling me that you might need to rethink your campaign a little, but obviously I don't know everything, perhaps you can explain more about your campaign and it's plot so that we can provide you with some reasonable alternatives/suggestions rather than guessing at what particular statblock would be viable?

Okay, but I won't be giving details on side-plots or anything in order for this post not to be very big. I also won't give details on clues and loot locations for the sake of the post size.

Main plotline: t he party is being sent to the mining station on a desert planet where there was a riot. The last thing heard over the commlink was that about all of the miners after finishing their shift didn't go to the barracks but instead turned on the guardsmen and started havoc. Upon arrival it seems that all guardsmen and almost all miners are dead (lacking about 15 people), airlock chamber is destroyed and the complex is rapidly losing air - in several hours it will be impossible to stay there without oxygen masks.

First side-quest : fix the air problem. Because if you get one proper hit in the head, you will most likely die.

Second side-quest: follow those who stole the vehicle - outside (this will connect to accessing the underground level another way and etc...).

When the party goes to underground mining level (I have a good big map of it) they will meet a group of people in one of the rooms, where they could try to negotiate and learn that that group is after that same object that led you here or they could try to fight... w/e the reasons.

Disregarding the outcome of the meeting, the party travels to the working end of the mine where they find a typical Necron object where they meet the BBEG and fight occurs.

On the way back from the fight they are met on surface by guards that are clearly outside of this complex and they ordered to follow or be forcefully put in the guards' vehicle. They are brought to a mansion miles away and put before the old person who is the owner of the mining complex who tells you about B&E his property and since there is no one else alive he can happily convince authorities you were the reason of the whole thing. He throws you in the cellar rooms where the party has to break free, search for clues in the old man's library and study to find out he is an experienced and rich Xenotechnologian who is obsessed with prolonging his life by any means. Again, with the help of clues they will learn there is a secret room in his study which they have to access (I prepared printed Mensa puzzles instead of dice rolling here) and inside they will find shards of Necron armor. Now, at this moment they can either: 1) search for extra loot, 2) look for an owner to capture him (+ XP reward) or kill him; 3) leave.

---

1) Necron fits the desert planet theme;

2) Necron fits my living-obsessed Xenotech idea;

3) Necron pariahs (or just Necrons in general) might have influence on the mind that started the madness in the first place.

So, here it is.

Gotta say, I love the plot, as well as how open-ended it leaves it for the party to either leave or return. In my eyes I can see the planet either remaining dormant or awakening, depending on how well you and your players enjoy the Necron twist, and that's made possible by my recommendation:

A single Canoptek Spyder, supported by Canoptek Scarabs.

I'm rusty on my Necron lore, but I'm pretty sure Spyders roam the Necron Tombs during their slumber, performing maintenance and prevent intrusion from unwanted visitors. I'd like to think it was possible that the miners breached the Necron Tomb and Spyders responded in defence - the missing workers maybe being taken to facilitate the production of Pariahs in future.

It's in line with the lore, doesn't mean you have to somehow BS how a Necron Lord can be alone, and should be a good match for your party. It also allows for the tomb to remain dormant, if that's your wish after these initial encounters, and also allows for delay before any kind of awakening happens.

If you like that idea I can provide a stat block for one, and likewise their scarabs? I have the scarabs finished and the spyder in rough, so I should be able to hand you something later this evening.

A single Canoptek Spyder, supported by Canoptek Scarabs.

If you like that idea I can provide a stat block for one, and likewise their scarabs? I have the scarabs finished and the spyder in rough, so I should be able to hand you something later this evening.

To be honest, I first of the Spyder too, but he seemed way too fat for me. Like, 65 wounds with 14 armor?

Also, I wanted to award them with the shards of that Cryptek' tremorstave with the possibility of fixing it for using it as Force Staff. There won't be much loot from a Spyder, I guess. Any suggestions? Maybe a Gloom Prism?

I could put something in that old man's library as the ultimate reward, though.

Tome of Fate contains stats for a dozen of Necron types and BC corebook has stats for Scarabs, so there is no need for that, thanks.

A single Canoptek Spyder, supported by Canoptek Scarabs.

If you like that idea I can provide a stat block for one, and likewise their scarabs? I have the scarabs finished and the spyder in rough, so I should be able to hand you something later this evening.

To be honest, I first of the Spyder too, but he seemed way too fat for me. Like, 65 wounds with 14 armor?

Also, I wanted to award them with the shards of that Cryptek' tremorstave with the possibility of fixing it for using it as Force Staff. There won't be much loot from a Spyder, I guess. Any suggestions? Maybe a Gloom Prism?

I could put something in that old man's library as the ultimate reward, though.

Tome of Fate contains stats for a dozen of Necron types and BC corebook has stats for Scarabs, so there is no need for that, thanks.

This is the DH2 forum. Are you playing BC, or DH2? Because a straight-duplication won't work. If you're wanting to do the conversion yourself though, then fair enough.

I am completely certain that no piece of Necron technology or material could support the creation of a Force Staff. It's not only unlikely, but downright counter-intuitive?

I believe Black Crusade also provides rules for what happens if PCs acquire Necron weaponry. If I recall, it has an irreplaceable power supply, or is infinite but any result of a Jam! makes it cease to function forever.

A Gloom prism as a reward? Sure. Just bear in mind the repercussions having such a device might give later down the line. If the party have an anti-all-things-Warp weapon, then they have such a piece.

He's fat, but he doesn't have Regeneration, and can't gain it from the Scarabs. If your party can't break the 20 (and I'm pretty sure it's 20?) soak, then again, I'm unsure if Necrons are the right choice for your campaign. You may want to have some filler to beef them up before actually encountering Necrons. I've just had a five-man party of 20,000xp each take on Flayed Ones, Warriors, Spyders, Scarabs, and a Necron Lord in several-encounters across a large-scenario... And that was a challenge.

This is the DH2 forum. Are you playing BC, or DH2? Because a straight-duplication won't work. If you're wanting to do the conversion yourself though, then fair enough.

Well, I don't have experience to do the proper conversion. Wanna help?

And why can't I just leave the stats? I mean, in case of Spyder only.

I am completely certain that no piece of Necron technology or material could support the creation of a Force Staff. It's not only unlikely, but downright counter-intuitive?

I believe Black Crusade also provides rules for what happens if PCs acquire Necron weaponry. If I recall, it has an irreplaceable power supply, or is infinite but any result of a Jam! makes it cease to function forever.

That Spyder won't have this anyway... How do I reward the party then?

Xenos relics/remains they can trade to a Magos or Inquisitor for a real, non-heretical reward? There's definitely factions out there that'd want to study necrodermis and other Necron technology for whatever reason.