In today’s installment of Tactics of Dragon Heist, we’ll take a look at the evil archmage Manshoon. This article builds on the groundwork established in my analysis of Manshoon’s simulacrum, so if you haven’t read it already, please check it out so you can understand the full picture of Manshoon’s tactics.
Like his simulacrum, Manshoon is a spellslinger with enough intelligence to know the players stats just by observing them, including the properties of their magic items and the factions that they’re aligned with. Unlike his simulacrum, Manshoon has 6th-9th level spell slots, a Staff of Power, and a Robe of the Archmagi.
Because of his magic items, Manshoon has an extremely high Armor Class and advantage on saving throws against magical effects. This means that it’s extremely hard for players of any class to hit him, although he’s still more susceptible to Dexterity and Constitution saving throws than anything else. His spell save DC is high enough that PCs are likely to fail even saves that use their best stats. Manshoon will still use the parties weak ability scores against them, but if the party wizard is the only good target for Feeblemind, Manshoon won’t let their high Intelligence stop him.
Between his Staff of Power and high level magic, Manshoon has access to thirteen more spells than his simulacrum. He won’t use his spell slots that are higher than 7th level to cast any spells below the level unless he’s absolutely sure he won’t need any higher level spells that combat.
Spell analysis
- Levitate and Ray of Enfeeblement, which can only be cast through the Staff of Power are primarily useful for avoiding melee attackers. However, Bigby’s Hand and Wall of Force do that job much better.
- Cone of Cold and Fireball, which can also only be cast through the Staff of Power, cost 5 charges each. They do area of effect damage comparable to Lightning Bolt and have areas of effect that are likely to include more enemies. Manshoon will cast one of these spells when it can effect 6 or more (or all) of his enemies.
- Hold Monster, which requires concentration and is cast with the staff of power, can be used for temporarily immobilizing a single dangerous opponent, sort of like the Grasping Hand option for Bigby’s Hand. It’s primary advantage over Bigby’s Hand is that it paralyzes instead of grappling, so all melee attacks against the target are critical hits. To take full advantage of this condition, Manshoon needs at least two allies making melee attacks against the target. (assuming those allies are CR 1/2–3).
- Flesh to Stone is another concentration spell that’s primarily useful for immobilizing opponents. It doesn’t deal direct damage to the target like Bigby’s Hand, help Manshoon’s minions as effectively as Hold Monster, or take opponents out of the battle as easily as Wall or Force. The chance of petrifaction would make up for these drawbacks, but Manshoon is unlikely to maintain concentration long enough for this effect to be permanent. If he loses concentration, Manshoon’s target will come back to the battle, having taken no damage directly from this spell. In most situations, Flesh to Stone simply isn’t worth it.
- Globe of Invulnerability protects Manshoon from spells of 5th level and lower. It requires concentration and can be cast through either the Staff of Power or Manshoon’s own spell slots. It takes four 5th level casters spamming cantrips or two 3rd level damaging spells each round for Globe of Invulnerability to be worth Manshoon’s concentration.
- Finger of Death, Feeblemind, and Power Word Kill, which are cast with Manshoon’s spell slots, are extremely effective at taking out a single target and will be directed at whatever opponents are the most dangerous. Feeblemind is used to nullify spellcasters with low Intelligence saves, and Power Word Kill takes out any target that’s below 100 hp (Manshoon’s extreme intelligence lets him know when this spell will affect a target). Finger of Death is used to soften up a really tough character for an upcoming Power Word Kill or finish off a character with less than 50 hp. If the players have help from powerful allies such as Meloon Wardragon or the Doom Raiders, he will direct these spells at the NPCs.
- Imprisonment has a one minute casting time and personally, I don’t think Manshoon would use it at all. If he has enough control over a target to keep them in his presence while he casts this spell, it seems like it would be much more practical to kill them.
- Simulacrum is another spell with too long a casting time to be used during combat, but it is very useful to drive your game’s narrative. As mentioned in Dragon Heist, he uses it to make a subordinate to do missions and give orders to other Zhents, and also might use this spell to replace a captured prisoner. Note that when he creates a new simulacrum, his previous one melts away. This means that he only makes a simulacrum of a captured player character when he’s certain that spying on them will do more for him than a clone of himself could.
- Mind Blank is an 8th level spell that’s too situational to be cast during, or in preparation for, combat in most circumstances (better to use that slot on Feeblemind). It has a 24 hour duration, so Manshoon will cast it before bed if Feeblemind wasn’t necessary and be under it’s effects the entire next day.
Complete Tactics
Overall, Manshoon’s tactics are very similar to his simulacrum’s. He’ll cast Mirror Image and Fireshield (but not Mage Armor) before battle. In the first round of combat, he’ll cast a concentration spell:
- Wall of Force will be used to take a dangerous opponent out of the battle or split up a party of at least five 5th level PCs.
- Hold Monster will immobilize the most dangerous opponent if Manshoon has 2 or more melee based allies that can attack that opponent each round
- Globe of Invulnerability will protect Manshoon if he expects the players to attack him with four or more cantrips or two or more 3rd level damaging spells per round. It will be cast with Manshoon’s 6th level slot to save his staff of power for Fireball and Cone of Cold.
- Bigby’s Hand will strangle or repeatedly punch the most dangerous opponent if none of the above conditions are met.
If Manshoon doesn’t need to cast Globe of Invulnerability, his 6th level slot can be used to up cast either Hold Monster or Bigby’s Hand. After he casts his concentration spell, Manshoon will use Feeblemind to nullify his opponent’s most dangerous spellcaster. If two spellcasters are equally dangerous, he’ll go for whichever one has the lowest intelligence. Then Manshoon will focus his fire on the next most dangerous opponent (either a spellcaster that’s forcing him to make Dexterity and Constitution saves or a melee fighter), using Power Word Kill if they’re below 100 hp. If he can’t use Power Word Kill yet he’ll try to catch six or more (or all) of his opponents in a Cone of Cold or use Finger of Death to weaken his main target.
If Manshoon loses concentration, he’ll cast another of his concentration spells if he thinks he can maintain concentration for at least 3 rounds. If he expects his concentration to break before then, he casts Greater Invisibility to make himself harder to hit. Throughout the whole battle, he uses Shield and Counterspell to avoid damage. If an enemy tries to Counterspell one of his leveled spells, he’ll use his reaction to Counterspell the Counterspell (thanks to u/keptani for coming up with this tactic).
Manshoon flees when reduced to 73 hp (60% of his hit point maximum), using Misty Step and Wall of Force much like his simulacrum. If he’s in Kolat Towers or his extra-dimensional sanctum, he heads for the teleportation circle and uses it to go to Yellowspire or another sanctuary.
Want to be notified when I come out with new posts? Subscribe to my email list for a notification every time I come out with a new post
