The first time in an encounter that a Villain is reduced to zero or fewer hit points, three things immediately happen, granting a rare glimpse at this foe's true cunning:
- Instead of dying, the villain is revealed to have been one of its minions in disguise THE ENTIRE TIME! To make things even worse, this minion dies in a massive explosion, dealing 1d6 points of fire (energy, common) to all enemy creatures within a 4 square radius (20 feet) of the villain's space. Affected creatures may make a Reflex save vs. a DC of 14 for half damage. (GMs may change this damage type to any other common Energy or Physical damage type, if it would be more thematically appropriate for the Villain in question.)
- Immediately after the explosion is resolved, four minions are spawned, or enough to bring the total up to eight, whichever is less (as per the rules of Surrounded By Idiots).
- The villain is removed from the encounter until the start of its next turn, immune to all damage and effects, and it cannot be targeted by any skills, talents, or abilities until then.
At the start of the Villain's next turn, the villain can appear either in any space that has at least partial cover from all enemy creatures (e.g., around a nearby corner), or in a space where one of its minions currently stands. If the latter option is chosen, the minion is killed to make room for its master. At that time, any conditions the Villain was suffering under are immediately cleared, all accumulated efforts to pierce its condition immunity are removed, and its hit points are set to half its normal maximum ( hit points). Once this has occurred, the Villain's immunity to damage expires, and it may perform its turn as normal.
The Villain is killed for good the second time its hit points are reduced to zero or less.
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