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Professional Fan of DDM
Shoe
Sergeant
804 Posts
    
 | | 06/05/2006 12:09 AM |
| Since my PCs normally use break enchantment to sober up the stoned PCs, it would be a moot point, but I'd have stone to flesh reverse the process.
Note that warforged aren't normally affected by stone to flesh - but that's when they are warforged. Once stoned, they become objects, and can be targetted by that spell. | |
Professional Fan of DDM | |
| 2004 D&D Miniatures Champion
Kiddoc
Underboss
1797 Posts
| | 06/05/2006 1:31 AM |
| quote:
Originally posted by Shoe
Since my PCs normally use break enchantment to sober up the stoned PCs, it would be a moot point, but I'd have stone to flesh reverse the process.
Note that warforged aren't normally affected by stone to flesh - but that's when they are warforged. Once stoned, they become objects, and can be targetted by that spell.
Good to hear--that's how we resolved it as well. Break enchantment is--of course--the cheaper option. Still, some PCs aren't quite as wise to this. I'm glad to know our ruling was OK. | |
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Wrackspawn
ChristopherGroves
Warlord
6093 Posts
| | Professional Fan of DDM
Shoe
Sergeant
804 Posts
| | 06/05/2006 11:21 AM |
| quote:
Originally posted by ChristopherGroves
I suppose your remark about the WF Barb was more along the lines of "and he's got crazy fort saves and would last longer" ... which is also valid.
'cept I mentioned that the WF Barb wasn't at that session - but the dragonborn paladin should've had reasonable saves (think he was at +8 or +9 or so, with base, Con, and Cha mods - maybe even a cloak +1.
You guys, with all your jibber-jabber... you're going to distract people from realizing that there are three significant updates updates just a few posts back (but now on the previous page)! [)] | |
Professional Fan of DDM | |
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Zaukrie
Underboss
2005 Posts
| | 06/05/2006 11:58 AM |
| | shoe, great, great thread. I've purchased this to run in the fall. I am teaching my two sons and their friends how to play the game, and I'll probably run them through this after they've only played about 6 times or so. It sounds like it will be very, very challenging for them. | |
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psistef
Underboss
1572 Posts
| | 06/05/2006 8:04 PM |
| | Thanx for the updates Shoe. Always good readin'. | |
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IanB
Commander
3112 Posts
| | 06/05/2006 8:07 PM |
| | Not to distract with more jibber-jabber, but is there an interest in more posts of this nature? I could probably scare something together for our run-through of Shackled City although we play a LOT less frequently than Shoe's game. | |
Anson on WotC boards | |
| Professional Fan of DDM
Shoe
Sergeant
804 Posts
| | 06/06/2006 12:36 AM |
| quote:
Originally posted by IanB
Not to distract with more jibber-jabber, but is there an interest in more posts of this nature? I could probably scare something together for our run-through of Shackled City although we play a LOT less frequently than Shoe's game.
It seems that alot of interest is because it's a published adventure - and it is always good to read about how those can turn out, and other groups' experience with them.
A Shackled City thread would be interesting, I think, especially since the big campaign adventure is out. | |
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Teflon Jeff
Warlord
6234 Posts
Idaho. Yes, we have Gamers in Idaho.
| | 06/06/2006 1:10 AM |
| I enjoy it, both to glean ideas from, and because I love the story.
Shackled city would be most welcome, as I don't have that one, nor will I be playing in it anytime in the near future (4 years) | |
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IanB
Commander
3112 Posts
| | 06/06/2006 5:55 AM |
| | Well, I'll see what I can throw together. I'm going to have to be careful not to give away any spoilers of stuff yet to come, since all but 2 of my players read these boards... | |
Anson on WotC boards | |
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Korhal_IV
Sergeant
852 Posts
| | 06/07/2006 1:02 AM |
| Don't worry, Shoe, we won't miss the updates. ;)
I've set the Ghostlord in the Mournlands, and I'm running 9th level characters into it. Figure that's going to be a fast TPK? Probably so.
Btw, Ian, I too would be interested in seeing a thread about Shackled City. :)
If anyone wants to know where I keep my group's (mis)adventures updated, it's here: http://www.dndadventure.com/cgi-bin/board/ikonboard.cgi?s=e24371955f6ad1fc3c3729696f425fec;act=ST;f=15;t=743;st=0
It should not be difficult to guess which poster I am. ;) | |
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maijstral
Underboss
2105 Posts
| | 06/07/2006 11:45 PM |
| I am enjoying the updates no matter how long between.
I've started the campaign and the players just did the bridge battle, i've got to say the first dragon is effectively nerfed by a warlock and a sorcerer with almost endless magic missles. It was a tough battle but not really because of the dragon the warlock and sorcerer reduced it to 20 hps in 3 rounds(one crit on an eldrich blast). Eldrich blast is the bane of young dragons,250 ft touch attacks.
The party had a tougher time with wyrmlord koth. | | | |
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TYGRHobbes
Sneak
149 Posts
| | 06/08/2006 3:39 AM |
| | I have a Warlock player in my game and he pretty much cleans up everything. I think with a Warlock who can see anything invis, flies the entire time, and uses a 4d6 Eldrich blast (with sickening invoc) that can be maximized you need to pump up some of the encounters. It's like adding another level to the group's avg. level with the warlock included. The monster's only saving grace is if they can fly and somehow grapple the Warlock after they've determined that he's a priority to kill. | |
Champion of the Lamia
www.tygrhobbes.com | |
| Professional Fan of DDM
Shoe
Sergeant
804 Posts
| | 06/08/2006 12:20 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by TYGRHobbes
I have a Warlock player in my game and he pretty much cleans up everything. I think with a Warlock who can see anything invis, flies the entire time, and uses a 4d6 Eldrich blast (with sickening invoc) that can be maximized you need to pump up some of the encounters. It's like adding another level to the group's avg. level with the warlock included. The monster's only saving grace is if they can fly and somehow grapple the Warlock after they've determined that he's a priority to kill.
Well, the Warlock has survived many of the encounters that have otherwise scraped the party - and his ability to see invis kept the blackspawn exterminator from getting sudden strike, but I don't know that he contributes more damage per round than, say, the raging barbarian.
At any rate - no update this week. Had a rehearsal dinner for the upcoming wedding of the Lurk's player, so session was canceled. (also means no lurk for a couple weeks) | |
Professional Fan of DDM | |
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TYGRHobbes
Sneak
149 Posts
| | 06/08/2006 3:02 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by Shoe
quote:
Originally posted by TYGRHobbes
I have a Warlock player in my game and he pretty much cleans up everything. I think with a Warlock who can see anything invis, flies the entire time, and uses a 4d6 Eldrich blast (with sickening invoc) that can be maximized you need to pump up some of the encounters. It's like adding another level to the group's avg. level with the warlock included. The monster's only saving grace is if they can fly and somehow grapple the Warlock after they've determined that he's a priority to kill.
Well, the Warlock has survived many of the encounters that have otherwise scraped the party - and his ability to see invis kept the blackspawn exterminator from getting sudden strike, but I don't know that he contributes more damage per round than, say, the raging barbarian.
At any rate - no update this week. Had a rehearsal dinner for the upcoming wedding of the Lurk's player, so session was canceled. (also means no lurk for a couple weeks)
True about the warlock damage output, but it's pretty much guaranteed round after round. The sicken bit is a nuisance as well. The see invis has been the bane to escaping bosses like Saarvith (got away with 0hp thanks to his dragon) and Ulwai (dead). He's usually very hard to get to as well (flying) and he had an insane AC until the ooze destroyed all his gear. That possibly may have been the equalizer.
The melee combatants (which does include a barb) are pretty easy to get to and have avg. AC, so it's pretty easy to wail on them or get a well placed grapple in there. I would say the barbarian/rogue is pretty nasty with the damage especially when he gets the sneak attack, but he tends to run away when he loses too many HP.
Looking forward to hearing your next update Shoe. It's been a real help to my campaign! | |
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glumag
Warlord
5968 Posts
| | 06/08/2006 3:30 PM |
| Ok, instead of blaming Wake as usual this time I am going to blame Shoe for this.
I finally broke down and bought the adventure because of his write up here [:D] I will start it in 2 weeks which makes I perfect for the WotdQ release and the 3 cases I got coming. I hope to have all the minis by the time I need them [:)]
Thanks Shoe [)] | |
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Reflex1
Warrior
322 Posts
| | 06/11/2006 1:05 AM |
| I just can't see Warlocks as being all that overwhelming, particularly in this adventure.
Varanthian can eat the offending warlock and there's not really anything he can do about it. Barring Sudden Still (used for Flee the Scene) or a Cape of the Mountebank, Warlocks are proper hosed once they've been swallowed or grappled. Their Spell-Like abilities all have Somatic and Verbal reqs, and there is no feat for Still Spell-Like Ability, because with the exception of Warlock Invocations, Spell-Like abilities already ARE Still. SR can also be a pain, barring Vitriolic Blast. And there's a certain Unhallowed shrine the Warlock will find sorely vexing, should he live that long.
I just haven't seen Warlocks to be all that bad, honestly. They are fairly reliable (but not spectacular) DPS, but they are far from an adequete replacement for a proper arcane caster due to how little else they bring to the table. I see them as being an archer replacement more than anything else. Yes, they are very accurate and can register that damage pretty much unfailingly, but it isn't that much relative to the burst damage other classes are often capable of. Barring Psionic Shot tomfoolery, I think they are well-balanced at this point. | |
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maijstral
Underboss
2105 Posts
| | 06/11/2006 1:41 AM |
| I wasn't saying Warlocks are overpowered,just that they nerf the dragon encouters fairly effectively unless you use very different tactics from the recommended ones. The first dragon encounter is supposed to be so dangerous because the young green flys well out of range of melee attacks and does flybys to breath. However when you have a warlock and a sorcerer doing pretty much automatic ranged damage and the fighters are just waiting for it to land and try melee it effectively nuetralizes the threat.Now the horde learns from the party as the party learns about the horde so in future encounters a dragon may have a sheild spell to counteract the MM's of the sorcerer but there is no effective counter to a warlocks eldrich blasts except tactics. In the Green encounter I had the dragon retreat and cure up then invisibly attack the sorcerer(the fighters were stuck to the warlock like glue), 4 of 5 attacks missed,grrrr bad dice rolls. The pary stuck to the treeline and attacked the bridge defenders at range.Using hit and run tactics in the woods and cover I made the party afraid of the dragon but in the end it retreated in the face of massive damage from the eldrich blasts.
I am not really worried by the warlock, in melee he is as vulnerable as any other magic user. It just the dragon encounters are supposed to be the big,fear inducing moments in the game, some of the toughest battles.The dragons are supposed to be the toughest opponents of the campaign and the warlocks auto damage against them kind of nerfs that. | | | |
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Korhal_IV
Sergeant
852 Posts
| | 06/11/2006 2:43 AM |
| I have a warlock in my party. I think the warlock can be effectively neutralized if the dragon focuses on him. Remember, he's only got d6 HP. The dragon should be able to bring the warlock and himself into melee fairly easily. If the party fighters *never* move more than 5' away from the warlock, either the other threats in the combat weren't effective, or the party is using some real teamwork and paranoia. I wouldn't worry too much.
If all else fails, simply upgrade the dragon's items. Ozzyrandion had 600 gp in useless pearls - what if he had another potion of Invis in there instead? | |
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TYGRHobbes
Sneak
149 Posts
| | 06/11/2006 1:32 PM |
| Heh, once again the greedy Warlock got zapped. He activated the black orb in the Ghostlord's lair with his deceive item ability. Heh, he thought he was gonna get something cool but instead gained 4 negative levels. Funny thing is the lion in the pool made it's Fort save and didn't become a ghost. He immediately wanted to get restored as he knew he could never make the Fort save to keep his levels. I had disposed of the owls the party had so the warlock had to fly on his own to the next town after Drellin's ferry. He got lucky on the way there and no encounters and the town happened to have a cleric. But on the way back he picked up a couple of Chimeras and kindly brought them back to the party to fight. In the end, the group was smart and didn't fight the Ghostlord and returned his phylactery.
I started the mini encounters on the way to Brindol. The warlock made quick work of the goblins and ettins that had ambushed a caravan with gold for the dwarves. He just flew up in the air and nuked them from above, while the rangers pelted them with arrows. They decided not to be greedy and return the gold to the dwarves. I plan on running a mini adventure with the dwarves. Since I've set the adventure in FR, I'll probably set it in the Underdark and have the party do some sort of task for the dwarves. I think drow and a Red Hand ambassador may be involved [:)] | |
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Korhal_IV
Sergeant
852 Posts
| | 06/18/2006 7:34 PM |
| *casts Raise Dead Thread*
C'mon, Shoe, anything new happen? [:)] How about everyone else? I've got a session on Tuesday wherein I shall introduce a new PC. He's going to be from Starsong Hill, since that's where the party is approaching. I'm adding a House Vadalis enclave near Starsong Hill, where they raise giant owls for the Race of Eight Winds and other events. The new PC will either be a local shifter/elf hired to assist, or a House Deneith guard protecting the enclave. | |
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Awesome Sauce
Teflon Jeff
Warlord
6234 Posts
Idaho. Yes, we have Gamers in Idaho.
| | 06/18/2006 11:42 PM |
| yeah, c'mon shoe, what like the upcoming set requires any time? it's already getting boxed and ready for ship!!!
(Insert sarcasm here) | |
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Against The Giants Called Shot: Huge Green Dragon
Icons Called Shot: Gargantuan Prismatic Dragon
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Snappa
Sneak
77 Posts
| | 06/19/2006 12:22 AM |
| quote:
Originally posted by maijstral
The first dragon encounter is supposed to be so dangerous because the young green flys well out of range of melee attacks and does flybys to breath. However when you have a warlock and a sorcerer doing pretty much automatic ranged damage and the fighters are just waiting for it to land and try melee it effectively nuetralizes the threat.
My group just had this encounter in our session today, and wound up killing Ozzy pretty handily. The mounted dwarf fighter made short work of the hellhounds with the frost weapon (I made it a greataxe instead of bastard sword) from Vrath keep, (dropped in back to back rounds with a little help from one of the party archers) The party approached from the woodline on the southeast side of the gorge, effectively keeping the hobgoblins from the keep from getting into range for quite a few rounds. The fighter anchored the position from the base of the southeast tower, with the favored soul backing him up with healing.
The dragon caught both of them in his breath on the first pass. That same round, two archers (one pure ranger, one ftr/rng/rog) and the warmage did nearly 50 damage to him, causing him to immediately return to the tower and drink his cure potion. Clutching his invisibility potion in a claw, he returned for another pass, biting the favored soul with a flyby attack (rolled a 4 on the breath weapon reload) and then following up with a strafing run which caught the warmage and one of the archers (they spread out effectively, and remained so throughout the fight). With the rather anemic damage output of the archer hobgoblins, they were able to concentrate ranged attacks on the dragon, dropping him back to roughly half-health as he flew off.
I had him land behind the southwest tower, effectively giving him full cover from the entire party, and drink his potion on the following round. He took to the air again, as the dwarven fighter was cleaving through the hobgoblins on the bridge. I landed him next to the warmage, (giving him a listen check to detect the beating of the wings which he failed) and preparing a full-attack action on the following round, followed by a breath when it recharged (again a 4 on the d4). This gave the archers and warmage time to take out the two hobgoblins on the near towers.
When the dragon reappeared, he missed with 2 claws, and the bite damage wasn't enough to drop the warmage. A 5-foot step, scorching ray, and a volley of arrows from the archers later, and the remaining hobgoblins were running for the hills as the party stood over their trophy.
So far, the makeup of this group seems almost perfectly tailored for this adventure. Many of the advantages provided by flying opponents and terrain are nullified by the insane ranged damage they can dish out, and the dwarf has been very effective at dealing with land-bound opponents. They may be hating life without turn undead once they get to the ghost lord, but to this point, it's been pretty easy. I'm considering adding a template to the black dragon in the swamp to beef him up a bit, because it's obvious from this fight, that these guys are going to be pretty effective dragon slayers.
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maijstral
Underboss
2105 Posts
| | 06/19/2006 1:00 AM |
| quote:
Originally posted by Snappa
So far, the makeup of this group seems almost perfectly tailored for this adventure. Many of the advantages provided by flying opponents and terrain are nullified by the insane ranged damage they can dish out, and the dwarf has been very effective at dealing with land-bound opponents. They may be hating life without turn undead once they get to the ghost lord, but to this point, it's been pretty easy. I'm considering adding a template to the black dragon in the swamp to beef him up a bit, because it's obvious from this fight, that these guys are going to be pretty effective dragon slayers.
I'm not too worried by the party at the ruins, blacks have waterbreathing and darkness spelllike ability and both do alot towards negating ranged attacks. Imagine if the party is in the belltower when the dragon attacks he shoots out of the water breaths and drops back down again. No sight in the murkey waters so no ranged attack. He can cast darkness on himself or the bell tower depending on his tactics this will also reduce the chances of ranged attacks. similar deal if they brace him in his lair but he has all the allies at the post as well. I may swap out a few magic items but I will probably keep everything else the same.
In my group the party let the Ozzy get away. After the inital disasterous confrontation between the party and Ozzy it became obvious the suggested tactics wouldn't work.Instead I had him intimidating the hobgoblins into giving up there potions and flying in and out of the chasm for cover going down the canyon and coming up out of sight of the warlock and sorcerer flying at tree level then stalking individuals party members,they had spread out so they couldn't be targeted by area of effect things, in the woods, they had set up in the treeline and engaged the hobgoblins in a ranged attack battle. After they reduced him in hp for the third time and he retreated again they also retreated badly damaged.The party had killed the hellhounds and half the hobgoblins and Ozzy was badly hurt with no healing so I had him fly away to warn the horde and heal,unfortunatly the party returned finished the job and destroyed the bridge before he could return, but they will meet again [}:)]. | | | |
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Korhal_IV
Sergeant
852 Posts
| | 06/19/2006 3:47 AM |
| Hmm, it seems like nearly everyone had an easier time with Ozzy than my PCs did. Changes I made: it's a hobgoblin cleric, not sergeant, at the bridge. The cleric can Cure Ozzy if necessary (although he only managed to do this once), and he can cast Bless to upgrade the hobgoblins' ranged attacks. I also had Ozzy drink his potion of Invisibility straight off the bat, and maneuver around to the party's backfield.
How efficiently are the Spot/Listen checks being conducted in these encounters? Ozzy's +17 Spot/Listen should be more than sufficient to hear a heavily armored fighter clanking away. Most groups should also be on horseback, and shouldn't get much of a warning that the forest clears out and the bridge comes into view. | |
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| Professional Fan of DDM
Shoe
Sergeant
804 Posts
| | 06/19/2006 1:45 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by Korhal_IV
*casts Raise Dead Thread*
C'mon, Shoe, anything new happen? [:)]
I'll get a proper update in a bit - I've been busy finishing up an unannounced product or two.
A quick summary, to whet your appetite:
Last week, I ran the Save the Walls and Abithriax's Rampage encounters. No lurk for that session, and by the end of the session, two other characters won't be returning. | |
Professional Fan of DDM | |
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griffrat
Commander
3502 Posts
| |
Username
Commander
4956 Posts
| | 06/23/2006 10:59 AM |
| Shoe,
Need an update!!!!
[:D] | |
Originally posted by Schooly_D
Username - he deals in minis
Champion of Lhesh Haruuc Shaarat'kor | |
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Zeb
Underboss
2026 Posts
| | 06/23/2006 8:49 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by Username
Shoe,
Need an update!!!!
[:D]
Yeah, stop drinkin' and carousin' with your Dreamblade buddies and post an update already!!! [)]
(P.S. Wish I was there!) | |
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Can of the Cave Beer
Commander
2838 Posts
| | 06/24/2006 12:06 AM |
| Give the man a break. ΖD] He's got a job to do, too.
He'll give us our fix when he gets some time....Won't you, Shoe?
Please? | |
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Korhal_IV
Sergeant
852 Posts
| | 06/25/2006 5:28 PM |
| | Update! Update! Update! | |
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TYGRHobbes
Sneak
149 Posts
| | 06/27/2006 3:14 PM |
| All I have to say...
If you have a good group of adventurers or a larger than 4 party running through your RHoD campaign, pump up the Red Dragon in the Battle of Brindol!! My group cut him to shreads. One well placed dispell magic and it's over. Not that I want to kill my players, it was no challenge at all. I would suggest adding an age category or two. Heh I was tempted to make it a huge just because I knew how easy it was going to be. Update Shoe!!! I wanna see how they did against red! | |
Champion of the Lamia
www.tygrhobbes.com | |
| Professional Fan of DDM
Shoe
Sergeant
804 Posts
| | 06/27/2006 6:44 PM |
| I got yer update right here!!
As I mentioned, the last session involved the Save the Walls and Abithriax's Rampage encounters. (Last Wednesday was skipped again due to some visitors from out-of-town)
The adventure picks up following a period of rest after the group's successful raid the previous night, where they were able to reduce the forces of the Red Hand by a couple giants, a few Blood Ghost Berserkers, and a handful of Blackspawn Raiders.
An hour before dawn, they were awakened by the distant sound of the Hill Giant Artillery beginning their barrage on the town walls. They were quickly roused (some of them, like the wizard, were already up and studying) and set off to eliminate one of the groups of giants.
They started by formulating a plan, which apparently initially involved the wizard lobbing ranged area-effect damage at a distance. But as the encounter unfolded, it became clear that the plan wasn't entirely understood by the party.
As an aside, it was interesting to see how the boundaries of a play surface can impact tactical decisions. In the middle of the "map", I had drawn the fortified hill on which the giants stood. I was using a 3x3 setup of dry-erase Tac-Tiles, which provided a roughly 30-inch square battlefield. The players didn't suggest initiating the encounter "off screen", but instead collected their minis along the edge of the tiles. This led to the initial encounter distance being close to around 100 feet (fireballs could have been lobbed from much further away).
At any rate, the encounter opened up with the wizard casting blistering radiance, a Spell Compendium area-effect spell that auto-dazzles (a -1 on most checks) and deals 2d6 damage per round over time (Fort half). As I understand it, the idea was that the giants would be forced to come out of the area to engage the PCs. But the damage, about 3 points per round considering the high Fort save of your typical Hill Giant, wasn't enough to get the giants to budge initially. Not only that, but the ongoing damage wasn't dispellable, so any PCs that wanted to rush in to fight the giants would be subject to the damage. The first couple rounds passed with a couple of the giants changing targets to the wizard and warlock (the only ones using ranged attacks), and one of the giants finally moving up to melee.
When the other giants were finally drawn off their artillery duties, the party ended up splitting their forces to deal with the giants separately. While the PCs had enough firepower to eventually take them down, it was at the cost of the shifter druid, who as it turns out is not able to tank a hill giant on her own. Instead of trying to cast a healing spell defensively (not alot of Concentration), the shifter (with single-digit hp left) ran away from the giant, provoking an attack of opportunity that flattened the shifter into paste. (For those keeping track at home - it's that player's 3rd character in this campaign).
Successful, sort of, the party retreated back to the city, but in the twilight hour of the morning, the red dragon Abithriax attacked.
The PCs, gathered inside one of the taverns in town serving as a marshalling point, heard screams outside as the dragon flew overhead, spewing flame on the surrounding buildings. At first, they weren't sure they could take on the dragon, but eventually they set out, swearing to not all be caught in the same breath weapon.
The PCs were joined by a ranger/rogue, who also found herself in defense of the town.
But the PCs weren't exactly prepared for this red dragon. The wizard's repertoire was primarily fire spells (and no dispel magic, and the only reliable ranged attack was the warlock. The dragonborn couldn't fly fast enough to provide an aerial threat, while the warforged barbarian and the rogue tried to hide to avoid getting caught in a wayward breath weapon.
After a few blasts from the warlock, the dragon | |
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Username
Commander
4956 Posts
| | 06/27/2006 7:08 PM |
| Thanks for the update Shoe!
Now about those stirges..... | |
Originally posted by Schooly_D
Username - he deals in minis
Champion of Lhesh Haruuc Shaarat'kor | |
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Dragon Snack
Warrior
285 Posts
| | 06/28/2006 3:05 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by Shoe
As an aside, it was interesting to see how the boundaries of a play surface can impact tactical decisions. In the middle of the "map", I had drawn the fortified hill on which the giants stood. I was using a 3x3 setup of dry-erase Tac-Tiles, which provided a roughly 30-inch square battlefield. The players didn't suggest initiating the encounter "off screen", but instead collected their minis along the edge of the tiles. This led to the initial encounter distance being close to around 100 feet (fireballs could have been lobbed from much further away).
This is one of the things my players have no problem ignoring. They routinely leave the edge of the "battlefield".
Don't the Tac-Tiles come in sets of 12? 3x3 would have only used 9, they could have asked for the other 3 to use if they didn't want to go "off the edge".
Does the Warlock have Eldritch Spear? Maybe the group didn't want the Wizard dominating play... | |
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| Professional Fan of DDM
Shoe
Sergeant
804 Posts
| | 06/29/2006 1:05 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by Dragon Snack
Don't the Tac-Tiles come in sets of 12? 3x3 would have only used 9, they could have asked for the other 3 to use if they didn't want to go "off the edge".
Does the Warlock have Eldritch Spear? Maybe the group didn't want the Wizard dominating play...
I actually bought a couple sets of tac-tiles, so that I can leave stuff on them that might be campaign-specific (since I run two different games). I would have happily extended the "battlefield", but the players didn't suggest it.
The warlock does have Eldritch Spear - but in the darkness it would have been difficult to pinpoint the giants at significant range, so I guess that might have played into it a bit. Of course, the blistering radiance spell creates an ongoing light source, which would have illuminated the targets for the warlock... | |
Professional Fan of DDM | |
| Professional Fan of DDM
Shoe
Sergeant
804 Posts
| | 06/29/2006 2:13 PM |
| Last night's session was great one, and the tales of the escapades will be handed down through generations of D&D groups for years to come.
The heroes, fresh off their defeat of the dragon Abithriax, were licking their wounds when a breathless runner came, well, running up to them. The north wall had been breached, and the Red Gauntlet and Brindol's Lions were pulling their forces back from the western wall, but their retreat needed to be protected from the forces that might pour through the breach, to avoid the town defenders being split into two groups. So the party headed north, vowing to bury the dead dragonborn once the battle was over. The warlock headed off to the west, to help cover the retreat (warlock player not at session).
As they jogged toward the hastily erected barricade, they were joined by Danforth, a human fighter in the service of the Red Gauntlet Regiment, and wielder of a spiked chain. (He also used what we refer to around here as the "cheaty-shield" - an animated large steel shield.) They arrived at the barricade, which was defended by almost a dozen town guards.
They took up positions on the barricade, and braced for the inevitable assault.
The first wave was hobgoblins and a pair of manticores. The hobgoblin threat was nearly immediately eliminated by a fireball from the wizard, and the party actually pulled out projectile weapons to fire at the manticores. The manticores concentrated their fire on PCs that damaged them with bows, but sprayed their tail spikes in a manner that also managed to hit some of the less-resilient town guard. The shock shortbow, culled from Ulwai Stormcaller at the Ghostlord's lair, proved the greatest threat, and the PCs dropped the manticores within four rounds. The only remaining threats were the two hobgoblin sergeants who had taken cover behind the corners of buildings along the road, and were taking potshots with their own longbows. The melee members of the party clambered across the barricade to chase down the hobgoblins, and the warforged barbarian claimed the first two of what would prove to be quite a few Power Attacking critical hits (with a keen bastard sword).
The party moved back to regroup, but elected to not retreat over the top of the barricade. The next force to attack them was an octet of Blood Ghost Berserkers, who were spotted along the roadway some 80 feet away. The PCs initially felt that they had a round to prepare, with such a distance between them, but they didn't expect the Berserkers to cover 80 feet of ground with charge attacks. As it turned out, only two were able to swing in the first round, and the others double-moved up to get close to charge positions. But the raging Blood Ghosts hit pretty hard, and had a reasonable chance of connecting each round (with +13 against ACs between 23 and 27). The wizard aided his party with a haste spell, and the killing commenced.
When DMing, I always like giving a PC an opportunity to shine and highlight his particular skill. In this case, the sudden grouping of targets allowed Danforth (the "new guy") a chance to use his own shtick. Danforth was built as the spiked-chain-wielding Whirlwind Attacker (of doom), and he quickly found himself in a position to hit five of the eight Blood Ghosts with a whirlwind strike. Combined with Power Attack, he was able to deal about 25 damage to each of them - which didn't kill them, but was still great fun for the player. He got to whirlwind at least twice more, as the PCs worked their way through the Blood Ghosts. But the Chaotic creatures were most likely to attack the biggest threat, and you could say that Danforth "drew aggro". Needing a 13 or 14 to hit the hasted human, the Blood Ghosts were able to land a couple blows, and after a couple rounds, Danforth was at just under half hit points (34 remaining).
Here's where I'll mention that the Blood Ghost Berserkers have a particularly nasty critical hit. Not only are they dealing 1d12+10 normally, but their greataxes have a x3 crit multiplier. 3d12+30 can be quite a bit of damage.
Well, the long and short of it is, a natural-20 threat followed by a natural-20 confirm wasn't the best thing to happen to the human chainfighter. Especially considering that 3d12+30 is normally alot more than 34. 61 points of damage (12,10,9 on the dice) meant that Danforth was Done For.
But Danforth had done close to 50 points of damage to the remaining Blood Ghosts, allowing the warforged barbarian a chance to step up and Cleave through what was left. Two rounds later, that wave of the battle was finished.
Meanwhile, Danforth's (only slightly) younger and similarly trained brother Dunforth arrived at the scene, and vowed to take up his brother's arms to defend the wall and avenge his brother's untimely demise.
Another runner appeared, letting the PCs know that the retreat was nearly complete - only a few more minutes were needed to get the last of the forces through.
That's when a building about 100 feet down the road was blown to pieces by a strike of lightning. Through the debris of the blast, five massive Bluespawn Thunderlizards came galloping down the road, each bearing a goblin rider.
The wizard let loose his last damaging spell, a vortex of teeth (from Spell Compendium) in front of the barricade - if this new enemy were to breach the barricade, they'd have to come through the area of his spell. The Thunderlizards charged forward, two of them close enough to bash into the wall and attack, and two of them held back to blast the barricade with lightning attacks. The first two breached the wall, and melee was joined.
This battle was simply awesome. The barbarian was dealing massive damage through critical hits (cleaving through a rider into the mount below in one case). The chainfighter (after quaffing a potion of resist electricity) was Whirlwinding, knocking riders off their mounts and then attacking the thunderlizards themselves. The lurk and the rogue ranger were double-teaming a thunderlizard that broke through the line. The thunderlizards were goring, and electricity arced between them. And the wizard used alter self to get wings, fly up over the battlefield, and started dropping heavy items out of his bag of holding onto the heads of the goblins and their mounts.
And now the death that will live on forever: After the wizard dropped a 25-pound ladder on top of a thunderlizard (I had him roll a touch attack to hit the square, and he critted for 4d6), that thunderlizard blasted up into the sky with a lightning bolt, hitting the wizard for 21 points of damage, but knocking him to -1 hp. The wizard then fell gently down to the ground, right into his own vortex of teeth. on the following round, the vortex dealt enough damage to kill two of the already-wounded thunderlizards, but then the little force-pirhanas turned on their conjurer, finishing him.
Meanwhile, the rest of the party had dealt with most of the other thunderlizards, but three of the PCs got into a line close to the last thunderlizard, and before it was cut down it let loose another blast of electricity. Both the warforged and Dunforth failed their saves, and both were at single-digit hit points. 24 points of damage was the roll, and Dunforth had 4 hp left, and resist electricty 10.
With his dying breath, Dunforth called for his brother Dinforth to avenge him.
The PCs were successful in delaying the Red Hand's advance long enough for the city defenders to retreat, and so they collected their dead and moved further back into the city.
I don't think the group has had quite as much fun dying in quite a while! The really interesing thing was that it felt like it came down to the last round, with the final thunderlizard, so I don't feel like the encounters were too overwhelming. I'm sure it felt overwhelming to the PCs, but it is very much in flavor of the city under attack by a horde of opponents.
I think the key was the missing warlock - his presence would have evened out the encounter, and providing the key advantage to the party. I think the absence of a character in a larger group is less noticeable early in the adventure, but more noticeable in these final chapters, because a larger group is already a level or so below what a smaller 4- or 5-man group might be. I'm considering letting the players bring in 9th-level replacement characters, instead of the 8th-level PCs they were running (though I guess they would have all hit 9 after this past session), or somehow giving them a bit of a boost before they leave Brindol. I'll have to evaluate the threat level of the next section, to be sure. | |
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zenthrus
Commander
4590 Posts
SLC, UT
| | 06/29/2006 3:13 PM |
| The caster being eaten by his own Vortex spell....that's classic [:D]
Danforth and his endless stream of similarly-trained brothers is pretty hilarious too... | |
Knight Warlord a.k.a. Commander (#32) in only 6 months. Where's my pie?
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TYGRHobbes
Sneak
149 Posts
| | 06/29/2006 3:33 PM |
| | That was excellent Shoe, classic! | |
Champion of the Lamia
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Wrackspawn
ChristopherGroves
Warlord
6093 Posts
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