Babau - My new nemesis

[Sarge]

So Babau demons, the nasty little guys with spears and sneak attack, what am I missing?

Just completed the start of the game and now into the wider world - first quest we try is to find the lost ring ring (the halfling Curl and some other guys) and a quasit has stolen it, then we get ambushed. So far so fun. But then 3 Babau demons just appear and basically one-shot half my party before we even get to move, and they are (seemingly) invulnerable to just about anything we can throw at them.

The party is level 5 (I think) and just started mythic paths but these guys are decimating me. Tried second time with every buff I can muster before the fight starts (which always feels a bit cheesy and gamey when you have to do it) and we still get mashed. Can't barely hit them, when we do it's 0 damage cos resistance, and they are dealing a sneak attack once per round that is higher than most of the party.

I'm guessing - or at least hoping - I'm missing some clever tactic here but can't see anything obvious from their stats. Please help!

[Zarquon]

blacksmith at camp sells cold iron weapons that penetrate their resistances. you know where they will be, throw down some grease or pits before the fight.

[Agrael-]

Idk... I've used everysingle spell and iten i had to boost my party. By the time i got to lv 5 it was easier to handle them, because my chevalier would hit like a brick with +11 damage, but i had to use stone skin or something like that to hold the first wave o babaus that i found. Grease dont help much, the hole sucking magic is useless against them. Fireball doesnt work, its a waste of spell slot... Lann can get some hits in and then i focus everything in a Babau at a time.

[Draken]

What are their saving throws?
Do you have any spells/scrolls that target a weak saving throw?
Ember's slumber for example is incredible against enemies with weak will saves.
If their reflex safe is low entangle and grease are great.
There should be something for fortitude safes too.

[crowak47]

if ya have evil eye with ember use the evil eye ac and you should be able to wreck them

[Agrael-]

Originally posted by Draken:

What are their saving throws?
Do you have any spells/scrolls that target a weak saving throw?
Ember's slumber for example is incredible against enemies with weak will saves.
If their reflex safe is low entangle and grease are great.
There should be something for fortitude safes too.

They are rogues. Their reflexes are better than most of the party i reckon.

[Sarge]

Originally posted by Zarquon:

blacksmith at camp sells cold iron weapons that penetrate their resistances. you know where they will be, throw down some grease or pits before the fight.

This was probably the best advice, still very hard to kill and they hit hard, but having some of these weapons available definitely helps. Cheers.

[XartaX]

Yeah you need cold steel, besides that they're not that difficult to tank with high AC. If possible try to reveal them so they don't catch you flat footed.

[Bastion]

they have sneak attack to get round that you need rogues or barbarians to be near the trigger area (immunity to sneak attack and cant be caught flat footed) and have everyone else waiting on the wings for the fight to start.

[Morgian]

Forget about offensive magic, because no matter what their saves are, they have good spell resistance. Concentrate on stuff that buffs you or allows no SR check, like summoning monsters.
They are rogues, so try to avoid them attacking all the same target. They cannot sneak attack, if they don't flank (easier said than done). You need weapons that bypass their DR, or you won't get far. Cold iron might do it, but I am not 100% sure. Finnean can hit them, though, if you have him. Seelah, armed with Finnean, and using smite evil, is one way to do it.
The only thing you will probably have defensewise is blur (or even displacement), which helps a little with it's 20% miss chance.

[ttv-r0b0c0p87]

Set your highest-AC member or pet to Defensive mode to boost their AC and put them between the Babau and your party.

Equip your best physical DPS members with reach weapons, such as the glaive or bardiche. You should have 2 magical reach weapons by now, but if you don't, you can buy masterwork cold-iron from the weapon salesman at the keep. The inn-keep also sells an item that turns your arrows into cold iron, and it's only 50gp and works for up to 50 shots.

Use potions of Enlarge and Bulls Strength on your reach-wielding members. Now you should 1 or 2-shot each babau (my Seelah just hit for 60dmg with a crit against a babau on Core difficulty). As others have said, Grease can also be effective and will get you free opportunity attacks when the babau stands back up.