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TYGRHobbes
Sneak
149 Posts
    
 | | 05/04/2006 4:10 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by Corim Danex
quote:
Originally posted by TYGRHobbes
One of the players was bothering me with why the Lord didn't just send an army from Brindol to fight the Horde before it got to Brindol. He kept bothering the locals in Drellin's Ferry to send word to the Lord. He also sent his flying animal companion with messages to Brindol as well. I seem to be running out of excuses why the army isn't coming.
The answer could be quite simple--the forces in the vale are set up for the smaller towns to retreat into the fortified area of Brindol. The leaders don't know (or maybe they do, depending on what the party has learned and told them) how dangerous the situation is, and the highest priority is to defend the city of Brindol. It was quite common in the middle ages for small towns to seek shelter in the walled cities from advancing foes.
Brindol has a larger army--one that is needed to defend Brindol, but ready to help shelter others who come to Brindol for shelter.
I hope this helps.
That helps a ton! I never thought of that one. That should sum it up pretty good for them. Thanks! | |
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Corim Danex
Warlord
6677 Posts
West Valley City, Utah
| | 05/04/2006 8:13 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by TYGRHobbes
quote:
Originally posted by Corim Danex
...
Brindol has a larger army--one that is needed to defend Brindol, but ready to help shelter others who come to Brindol for shelter.
I hope this helps.
That helps a ton! I never thought of that one. That should sum it up pretty good for them. Thanks!
No problem. I've been thinking through stuff like that for my group. I didn't have the same issue--as the group recommended rather quickly to the town leaders at Drellin's Ferry that they best be moving on the Dawn Way to the east, because their forces would be doomed if the Red Hand showed up on their doorstep.
I was just thinking that from a historical sense, it made sense for the smaller towns to seek shelter at Brindol. | |
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Korhal_IV
Sergeant
852 Posts
| | 05/05/2006 6:59 PM |
| TYGRHobbes, my group has been having similar issues with the army. My solution involved bureaucratic snafus, canny diplomatic maneuvers by ambassadors from the hobgoblins (which are much more civilized in Eberron, where I'm running this) and their allies, and just the plain inability to cope with a massive invading force two years after the devastation of the Last War.
Shoe, I'm putting this here so you can read it and give Jesse Decker a big man-hug for me. King's Road from Fantastic Locations is a great map to use for random road encounters on the way to or from various locations in Elsir Vale. Because it joins so neatly to the other maps, I'm throwing the entire Old Kings' Keep into the module, upgrading a roadblock encounter into the hobgoblins' takeover of an old military outpost that provides shelter for merchants along the Old Rhest Trail (which, where I've put it, goes towards a relatively large center of civilization a few hundred miles north). | |
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Shoe
Sergeant
804 Posts
| | 05/05/2006 8:32 PM |
| | Thanks for the comments on the map, I'm glad you like it. It's also not unreasonable to use the Keep maps for Vraath Keep, with a bit of modification to the setup. Not sure what Decker has to do with it, though (the Fields of Ruin skirmish maps are all my babies, and Chris Perkins did the KoFK2 map). | |
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Korhal_IV
Sergeant
852 Posts
| | 05/06/2006 4:37 AM |
| quote:
Originally posted by Shoe
Thanks for the comments on the map, I'm glad you like it. It's also not unreasonable to use the Keep maps for Vraath Keep, with a bit of modification to the setup. Not sure what Decker has to do with it, though (the Fields of Ruin skirmish maps are all my babies, and Chris Perkins did the KoFK2 map).
Really? Decker's listed as Development Manager, but your name isn't anywhere on the credits (front page of the module) or elsewhere. I know, because I looked to see who to thank. Bummer if you didn't get your name on it. (Stephen Schubert, right?) | |
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Shoe
Sergeant
804 Posts
| | 05/06/2006 3:48 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by Korhal_IV
quote:
Originally posted by Shoe
Thanks for the comments on the map, I'm glad you like it. It's also not unreasonable to use the Keep maps for Vraath Keep, with a bit of modification to the setup. Not sure what Decker has to do with it, though (the Fields of Ruin skirmish maps are all my babies, and Chris Perkins did the KoFK2 map).
Really? Decker's listed as Development Manager, but your name isn't anywhere on the credits (front page of the module) or elsewhere. I know, because I looked to see who to thank. Bummer if you didn't get your name on it. (Stephen Schubert, right?)
hrm. looks like something I need to take up with Jesse... [V] But I'll pass the thanks on to Jesse for being my manager! | |
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Korhal_IV
Sergeant
852 Posts
| | 05/08/2006 4:57 AM |
| quote:
Originally posted by Shoe
hrm. looks like something I need to take up with Jesse... [V] But I'll pass the thanks on to Jesse for being my manager!
Bummer, man. [:(]You deserve a lot of credit for those maps! [:(!]
I may actually buy a second set, so I can lay out the road and the entire keep. It's that awesome. Hope that's at least a little consolation! | |
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Korhal_IV
Sergeant
852 Posts
| | 05/12/2006 8:04 PM |
| Man, did I kill this thread or what?
Did indeed pick up a second set for use all at once. I'm filling the Old Kings' Keep with a hobgoblin/hell hound detachment, and I'm hoping to run the session Tuesday. | |
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|
TYGRHobbes
Sneak
149 Posts
| | 05/12/2006 10:21 PM |
| Here's a little sumthin' to awaken this thread....
The party hasn't gotten to the Thornwaste yet, but when they do, they'll have a nice surprise in the form of Varanthian the Half-Fiend Behir! | |
Champion of the Lamia
www.tygrhobbes.com | |
| Professional Fan of DDM
Shoe
Sergeant
804 Posts
| | 05/13/2006 2:01 AM |
| TYGRH: That totally Rocks!
Back to the story!
When last we left our intrepid adventurers, they had fallen back after being soundly beaten by Saarvith and his draconic companion. During the funeral service for the fallen shifter cleric, a shifter druid visiting the Tiri Kitor from the Eldeen Reaches was so moved by the cleric's sacrifice, that she swore an oath to avenge the fallen shifter.
But first, a player meeting. The group kicked me out for a bit, while they spent some time talking about how little they actually work together, and they tried to find a reason for all the near party kills. After discussing some concept called "beamwork" (it was hard to hear from the other room), I was summoned once again to run the game.
And run it I did.
The PCs first advanced back to the belltower, to make sure it was clear and get a better view of the town hall. Saarvith, through a process involving a dog-paddling ettin, had restocked the belltower by convincing the ettin that there was fresh meat available there. So the ettin guarded the bottom floor while a lone hobgoblin considered his fate atop the tower.
The ettin was an initial surprise to the PCs when they first entered the belltower, but they made quick work of it, thanks in no small part to the lurk's newfound ability to deal Int damage with a couple successful strikes. Turns out ettins aren't that smart, so Int damage can take them out quickly. In order to make the fight close to challenging, I ruled on the fly that the first 6 points of Int damage only disabled one of the ettin's heads, but ultimately it was soundly beaten.
After their victory, it was on to the town hall. Most of the party used their raft to get up onto the back side of the hall, while the wizbard decided to get out early and clamber up on the stockade-looking structure (presumably to be out of reach of the Ogres). A grand plan, and once battle was joined, the PCs began to beat down the ogres -- apparently, the players had talked about a "buddy system", and were careful not to overextend and forced the ogres to come to them.
All was going well, until the Greenspawn Razorfiend surfaced within the stockade, breathing acid at the wizbard, who promptly dove into the relative safety of the water. This is where the wizbard educates himself on the exciting world of the Swim check. For pretty much the rest of the fight, the wizbard was underwater or treading water.
Meanwhile, the razorfiend leapt out of the stockade and started hit-and-runs on the PCs. They were doing well until an unexpected crit, and it turns out that 6d6+18 is alot of damage. The druid dropped (down, but not out). But the lurk and paladin had moved up into the town hall, tracking down the song of the mindbender, and the party began to fragment.
The night ended on a cliffhanger - the PCs split, the wizbard finally climbing up onto the docks, and the druid down.
What would happen next? | |
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Shoe
Sergeant
804 Posts
| | 05/13/2006 2:13 AM |
| What, indeed...
The following session, the players of the paladin and warlock were out, leaving the group with the lurk, the wizbard, the warforged barbarian, and the shifter druid.
The warforged was able to deal enough damage to force the greenspawn to flee, and the party moved into the town hall to help the lurk confront the mindbender. The hobgoblin didn't put up much more of a fight, but then Saarvith and the black dragon made their reappearance.
This time, though, the party was a bit more prepared. Half the party had acid resist up, so the dragon's breath weapon was negligible. The wizbard managed to tell a joke so funny that Saarvith couldn't contain himself and began to laugh uncontrollably. A great back-and-forth battle ensued, with the barbarian finally ending the black with a well-placed critical hit, which dropped it before it had a chance to flee.
Saarvith, meanwhile, escaped, and I'm sure he'll show up again, likely with that greenspawn razorfiend.
The party searched the town hall, finding Saarvith's treasure, and the submerged treasure of the black, including the phylactery. They gathered a bunch of razorfiend eggs, and headed back to Brindol. An ominous sight was visible from the road - in the clear sky, columns of smoke rose slowly in the western distance, marking the advance of the Red Hand.
They quickly realized that the next logical step would be to get the phylactery back to the Ghostlord - whose rumored location was now behind the oncoming horde.
We split for the night, and I started preparing for those encounters they'd have trying to break through enemy lines. (and I've finally got enough Snigs to make an interesting worgrider encounter!) | |
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Shoe
Sergeant
804 Posts
| | 05/13/2006 2:41 AM |
| Update 3 in a row, and for the most recent session, since we skipped last wednesday on account of my extreme business recently.
For this past session, I was all ready for the players to set off through the enemy lines, fighting a couple skirmishes, saving fleeing townsfolk, defending against raiding chimeras... stuff like that.
The first part of the session was taken up with re-equipping, as the PCs hadn't had a chance to do so yet, and had accumulated significant wealth. I decided that since they were essentially working for Brindol, that the town leaders wouldn't mind them buying or trading for appropriate items.
If you are running this, I'd take this opportunity to make sure the PCs are close to the Wealth guidelines (page 135 of the DMG) before they head off on the next leg. In this case, I had the PCs each give me their wealth totals, figured out what the average gp value was for the PCs, and then made up the difference between that and the expected wealth with a lump sum payment for retrieving the greenspawn eggs. Alternately, you could have the Lions of Brindol or the governing body provide specific items to help them in their goal. Make the PCs feel like war heroes - they'll like it!
At any rate - they threw me a curve ball. After doing some research in the library on the Ghostlord, and figuring out where they needed to go, they asked to track down the most powerful wizard in town. They then, through significant diplomacy, convinced that wizard (9th level) to teleport them into the Thornwastes and straight to the Ghostlord's reputed lair.
There goes the "bust through the lines" encounters - but I'll save them for the eventual trip back.
Luckily, I rolled "off-target", and placed the PCs a few miles away from the Ghostlord's monument. On the next day's journey, I rolled Varanthian as a wandering monster, so pulled out my behir (no wings, though) and started the encounter by circling and blasting with lightning.
When the party spread out to avoid another breath weapon, Varanthian swooped in on an outlying PC and proceeded with his bite/grab/rake routine. The Improved Grab turned out to be pretty good, and will likely be the most difficult part of the encounter. With his +25 on grapple checks, it's reasonable for the behir to have the following tactic:
Round 1: attack, hit, grab fighter
Round 2: swallow, cleave to hit and grab again (cleric or fighter 2)
Round 3: swallow, cleave to hit and grab again (wizard)
Round 4: constrict/rake/kill wizard, cleave to hit and grab again
Round 5: constrict/rake FTW
I decided to not be quite so lethal, electing to take a -20 on subsequent grapple checks to avoid the sneak attack from the rogue. The PCs piled on damage pretty quickly, getting Varanthian to its flee threshold within about 6 rounds. It fled back to its lair, healing up some with the help of some donated cure moderate wounds potions from a hobgoblin guard/snack.
The battle at the lair actually went more quickly. This time, Varanthian did swallow the warforged barbarian, but the PCs overcame with focused firepower and some lucky damage rolls.
Just to show that they hadn't given up all old habits, the PCs elected to camp out in Varanthian's lair. Their logic was that a creature this big and dangerous had probably scared off any other predators. Can't someone teach the wizbard how to cast rope trick?
During their rest, they were attacked by the ghost brute and ghost dire lion from the adjoining hallway (beyond the secret door they didn't find). This battle felt very one-sided. Even with touch attacks, the damage output of the lions is very low. While some PCs took some ability damage, they never felt very threatened. Between magic missiles and making the incorporeal rolls, they dispersed the ghosts (one of them permanently).
Next week, we'll see if they decide to stay in Varanthian's lair, or if they instead find a different campsite away from the host of flying ghosts. The wizbard is already planning his dimension hop up into the Lion's Maw - and the wyrmlord's forces are waiting! | |
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|
TYGRHobbes
Sneak
149 Posts
| | 05/13/2006 5:03 AM |
| Thanks Shoe!
Very good read. I'm running exactly the same parts this Saturday. It's nice to see how others run/play this adventure. It also looks like we are running things in a different order too. I've got them going to Rhest and then back to Drellin's Ferry after a quick Chimera attack. They will have to help along a decision about the incoming horde which can now be seen on the horizon from town (hopefully an evacuation). They will probably head to the Ghostlord after that. That's when they'll get the Brindol hook. I plan on running the mini plots from Part II on the way to Brindol as they pass from town to town avoiding the horde. Hopefully they'll make it to Brindol after those nasty Barghest encounters. Then again you never can forsee what the party will do and the order might go completely different than planned [:)]
One thing I did notice about the adventure is that the maps are kind of small for some of the encounters. The town hall in Rhest seems kind of small for a bunch of ogres and ettins to be running around in. I can't see those critters plus a full party all fighting on the roof at the same time. Same thing in the Ghostlord's house. The couple of rooms that the party and the Wyrmlord and her party are supposed to fight in seem rather tight. Those are 5' squares on the maps eh? I was just wondering if you had run into any problems with space? | |
Champion of the Lamia
www.tygrhobbes.com | |
| Professional Fan of DDM
Shoe
Sergeant
804 Posts
| | 05/13/2006 5:29 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by TYGRHobbes
One thing I did notice about the adventure is that the maps are kind of small for some of the encounters. The town hall in Rhest seems kind of small for a bunch of ogres and ettins to be running around in. I can't see those critters plus a full party all fighting on the roof at the same time. Same thing in the Ghostlord's house. The couple of rooms that the party and the Wyrmlord and her party are supposed to fight in seem rather tight. Those are 5' squares on the maps eh? I was just wondering if you had run into any problems with space?
I think I actually made the town hall a bit bigger when I drew it out - and I started the ghostlord's lair a bit larger, too, since the Huge behir doesn't fit well in its lair if you want to have an interesting fight.
But increasing dimensions by 50-100% isn't that big a deal. | |
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vesivus
Sergeant
487 Posts
Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | 05/18/2006 1:04 PM |
| We have offered a service to some customers who purchase books -- we scan in the maps and enlarge them to 'miniature' size for roleplaying. We can do this (printed & laminated for under $20 a map)...
We've almost completed most of the maps from Red Hand of Doom. They are very nicely done and very impressive -- I love this module.
(Don't worry, there is a nice 'copyright' tag line at the bottom of each map -- we just offer the printing & laminated service for personal gaming by the players)
John | |
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Username
Warlord
5658 Posts
| | 05/18/2006 3:54 PM |
| Good read Shoe!
Man I wish there was an RPG near me!!! | |
Originally posted by Schooly_D
Username - he deals in minis
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Korhal_IV
Sergeant
852 Posts
| | 05/22/2006 2:06 AM |
| | Hey TYGRHobbes, how did you make those wings? I probably won't ever have the time to try it, but I might. [:)] | |
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TYGRHobbes
Sneak
149 Posts
| | 05/22/2006 2:15 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by Korhal_IV
Hey TYGRHobbes, how did you make those wings? I probably won't ever have the time to try it, but I might. [:)]
Pretty much just Photoshop and a color printer. Just mirrored one wing to make a back side. Glued 'em together with Elmer's. Did that twice to get 2 wings and put them on the Behir back with a bit o tape. | |
Champion of the Lamia
www.tygrhobbes.com | |
|
Frederyck
Sneak
134 Posts
Uppsala, Sweden
| | 05/22/2006 5:53 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by vesivus
We have offered a service to some customers who purchase books -- we scan in the maps and enlarge them to 'miniature' size for roleplaying. We can do this (printed & laminated for under $20 a map)...
We've almost completed most of the maps from Red Hand of Doom. They are very nicely done and very impressive -- I love this module.
(Don't worry, there is a nice 'copyright' tag line at the bottom of each map -- we just offer the printing & laminated service for personal gaming by the players)
John
OT:
Will that be available for download purchase as well, or only on printed card stock? | |
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TYGRHobbes
Sneak
149 Posts
| | 05/28/2006 12:21 AM |
| quote:
Originally posted by Shoe
For this past session, I was all ready for the players to set off through the enemy lines, fighting a couple skirmishes, saving fleeing townsfolk, defending against raiding chimeras... stuff like that.
First to start off with a question... How do I get the PC's to stay on the ground, after they were skillful enough to win the giant owl mounts from the elves, so that they can run these side adventures on the way to Brindol? I don't want to look like a DM nerfing their newly obtained mounts as well.
quote:
At any rate - they threw me a curve ball. After doing some research in the library on the Ghostlord, and figuring out where they needed to go, they asked to track down the most powerful wizard in town. They then, through significant diplomacy, convinced that wizard (9th level) to teleport them into the Thornwastes and straight to the Ghostlord's reputed lair.
There goes the "bust through the lines" encounters - but I'll save them for the eventual trip back.
Once again that giant owl mount thingy came into question at this point too [:(] And they can bypass the trip back too!
quote:
When the party spread out to avoid another breath weapon, Varanthian swooped in on an outlying PC and proceeded with his bite/grab/rake routine. The Improved Grab turned out to be pretty good, and will likely be the most difficult part of the encounter. With his +25 on grapple checks, it's reasonable for the behir to have the following tactic:
Round 1: attack, hit, grab fighter
Round 2: swallow, cleave to hit and grab again (cleric or fighter 2)
Round 3: swallow, cleave to hit and grab again (wizard)
Round 4: constrict/rake/kill wizard, cleave to hit and grab again
Round 5: constrict/rake FTW
I decided to not be quite so lethal, electing to take a -20 on subsequent grapple checks to avoid the sneak attack from the rogue. The PCs piled on damage pretty quickly, getting Varanthian to its flee threshold within about 6 rounds. It fled back to its lair, healing up some with the help of some donated cure moderate wounds potions from a hobgoblin guard/snack.
The battle at the lair actually went more quickly. This time, Varanthian did swallow the warforged barbarian, but the PCs overcame with focused firepower and some lucky damage rolls.
Wow, did I do the same thing too or what!?! That behir was just too much for them with that grapple/swollow routine. They did lose one to that though. I might have been too kind in the end... The druid got off an Ice Lance which stunned the behir for 4 rounds because of my way bad dice roll. That pretty much was the nail in the coffin for the behir.
quote:
During their rest, they were attacked by the ghost brute and ghost dire lion from the adjoining hallway (beyond the secret door they didn't find). This battle felt very one-sided. Even with touch attacks, the damage output of the lions is very low. While some PCs took some ability damage, they never felt very threatened. Between magic missiles and making the incorporeal rolls, they dispersed the ghosts (one of them permanently).
This paragragh is | |
Champion of the Lamia
www.tygrhobbes.com | |
|
Can of the Cave Beer
Commander
2838 Posts
| | 05/28/2006 1:34 AM |
| quote:
Originally posted by TYGRHobbes
Now the question is how do I get the new PC the player made, that was killed by the behir, back into the story without going to Brindol? They haven't been there before. And I don't want them to just back and forth between Brindol and the Ghostlord with their flying mounts. Which brings me back to the question on how to get the PC's to actually do the side encounters in Part II if they're just gonna fly everywhere.
Well, as to the first. Are they finished with the Ghostlord? If not, every necromancer needs a supply of "spare parts". Some need to be fresher than others. If the new PC were a captive of the Ghostlord, it would give him/her an excellent reason to want to help the rest of the PCs (assuming they manage to rescue the newb in the first place [)]).
As for the owls...Change the weather. That will alter the birds flying abilities. Or shift some of the encounters to happen in the air, or when the PCs stop to rest their mounts.
I'd think that a group of adventurers flying around everywhere on Giant Owls would attract some attention of the "unwanted" variety. And don't forget that the birds have to eat, too. It's very possible than an "unscheduled" landing could occur if one were hungry enough.
If worse comes to worst, have one or two owls lay a clutch of eggs. That will interfere with the whole groups ability to travel and stay together as "mama" will want to remain with the nest.
When the eggs hatch, have the elves come and claim most of the hatchlings. | |
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Skyscraper
Sergeant
659 Posts
Montreal
| | 05/30/2006 2:19 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by TYGRHobbes
Now the question is how do I get the new PC the player made, that was killed by the behir, back into the story without going to Brindol? They haven't been there before. And I don't want them to just back and forth between Brindol and the Ghostlord with their flying mounts. Which brings me back to the question on how to get the PC's to actually do the side encounters in Part II if they're just gonna fly everywhere. It would suck to go straight from the Ghostlord right to the Battle of Brindol. That would pretty much cut out a big chunk of Part II. I had this whole race the Horde to Brindol thing all planned out using the encounters from Part II. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks!!!
For the question of the new PC, here are some ideas:
- PC is prisonner of either Varanthian, the hobgoblins or the ghostlord
- PC is adventuring nearby (you can have the other PCs help him accomplish a small side quest including one or more of the quests of part II to recuperate an object or something)
- PC is sent by elves to send the eagles back immediately since they are required for some reason (although that's a bit lame since they just lend them to the PCs)
- PC is sent (teleported) by Brindol council to help (maybe he asked for it when he heard about the other PCs' deeds)
- PC is also going to the ghostlord's lair to try to find a comrade of his (now undead)
- PC is also going to the ghostlord's lair to try to find an object of some value to him or his community or sect of temple or group (object stolen or in the possession of a fallen comrade now undead)
For the question of the eagles, here are a few thoughts:
- if the same rules are used than for horses in the PHB, mounts are actually used for 8 hours during a day to ride. The rest of the time, PCs are sleeping (8 hours) and resting and feeding and feeding the mounts and resting the mounts (8 hours). That gives you 16 hours every day to have stuff happen. It's quite reasonable to think that large flying eagles carrying humanoid creatures and other gear, would attract the attention of nearby creatures when landing anywhere, and that those creatures would want to investigate.
- you can have an airial battle occur (rare otherwise, be prepared, those aren't obvious to conduct)
- if the PCs are attacked by unintelligent ennemies, such as beasts or other low-INT monsters, you can have some of the opponents actually attack the eagles (that would defend themselves if attacked). If enough are killed, maybe the PCs would not be able to all fly to the ghostlord's lair
- while the PCs are inside the ghostlord's lair, you can have the eagles attacked by some "wandering" monsters. The PCs could emerge after some time from the crypt, and find the eagles' fresh carcasses being devoured by some beast(s).
- while the PCs enter the ghostlord's lair, i would ask them if they tie the eagles to something. If not, maybe they fly away. If so, they're easy prey for any creature strong enough to beat them in ground combat.
Hope that helps. | |
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| Knight of Argenis
Corim Danex
Warlord
6677 Posts
West Valley City, Utah
| | 05/30/2006 3:23 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by Can of the Cave Beer
If worse comes to worst, have one or two owls lay a clutch of eggs. That will interfere with the whole groups ability to travel and stay together as "mama" will want to remain with the nest.
When the eggs hatch, have the elves come and claim most of the hatchlings.
LOL! That's an excellent idea. | |
"Look to God and live." Alma 37:47
Vindicated Champ of Hippogriff (Arcadian Hippogriff) and Uncommon Horse | |
| Knight of Argenis
Corim Danex
Warlord
6677 Posts
West Valley City, Utah
| | 05/30/2006 3:27 PM |
| | The owls could decide to fly somewhere you need them to go on their own, and land. Say that they got hungry and were looking for food. If one of the treehuggers casts speak with animals, tell them that the diplomacy (wild empathy) check fails to influence the owls (DC 40+). | |
"Look to God and live." Alma 37:47
Vindicated Champ of Hippogriff (Arcadian Hippogriff) and Uncommon Horse | |
| Knight of Argenis
Corim Danex
Warlord
6677 Posts
West Valley City, Utah
| | 05/30/2006 3:31 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by Shoe
Meanwhile, the razorfiend leapt out of the stockade and started hit-and-runs on the PCs. They were doing well until an unexpected crit, and it turns out that 6d6+18 is alot of damage. The druid dropped (down, but not out).
Each time my party has encountered a razorfiend (the one by the giant owl carcass and another I threw in as a filler encounter), the razorfiend has landed a crit. The first time killed the ranger outright (it was the second swing of a full attack). The second encounter, one dropped the rogue from full hp to about -5. The crit range on those razorfiends is nasty (18-20/x3 for 2d6+6 damage on a regular hit, and 6d6+18 on a crit). High attack bonuses don't hurt his chances, either. | |
"Look to God and live." Alma 37:47
Vindicated Champ of Hippogriff (Arcadian Hippogriff) and Uncommon Horse | |
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TYGRHobbes
Sneak
149 Posts
| | 05/30/2006 4:28 PM |
| | Very excellent ideas guys! Thanks a bunch! I now have a good idea on what's going to happen. I'll update in a week or so on how it turns out. | |
Champion of the Lamia
www.tygrhobbes.com | |
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griffrat
Commander
3506 Posts
| | 05/30/2006 5:59 PM |
| | With flyers you can always have air to air combat. Takes a little crazy management but can be a ton of fun.....[}:)] | |
Ambassador of FUN!!! | |
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Can of the Cave Beer
Commander
2838 Posts
| | 05/31/2006 12:07 AM |
| quote:
Originally posted by Corim Danex
quote:
Originally posted by Can of the Cave Beer
If worse comes to worst, have one or two owls lay a clutch of eggs. That will interfere with the whole groups ability to travel and stay together as "mama" will want to remain with the nest.
When the eggs hatch, have the elves come and claim most of the hatchlings.
LOL! That's an excellent idea.
Thank you! If the people I work with actually knew just how devious I could be, they wouldn't think I was giving them a hard time now. {}:)]
And if the elves leave a hatchling or two, it won't upset the players terribly much as they can train it to replace a fallen mount or sell it for a nice profit in a big city somewhere. | |
Champion of the Werewolf Lord, Knight of Anything Duergar, and Squire of Things Gnollish
List reset with the start of previews for each new set...got Chainmail®? | |
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Username
Warlord
5658 Posts
| | 05/31/2006 12:42 AM |
| | Where's my update Shoe??? | |
Originally posted by Schooly_D
Username - he deals in minis
Champion of Lhesh Haruuc Shaarat'kor | |
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TYGRHobbes
Sneak
149 Posts
| | 06/03/2006 10:33 PM |
| Yes, we are in need of our Shoe adventure recap fix!
I finished up the Wyrmlord Ulwai encounter today. That can be a nasty encounter for the PC's as long as your remember to add the bad guys buffs and the fog cloud like I kept forgetting to do [:(] The encounter was still pretty tough for the PC's even though I messed it up. Ulwai's stormcall lighting thingy was nasty. Doing over 20 points of elec. damage almost every round hurts. A note for DM's... It's hard for Ulwai to escape this encounter unless you plan ahead. If the battle is going even remotely bad, she needs to get out of her bedroom quickly or she's gonna get trapped and get smoked (especially when the PC's can see invis). Damn those Warlocks and their blasts and invocations!
The greed got the better part of one character in the sacrifice room. He flew into the pit and saw a magic aura from the dead decomposing body. Must have that magic item! Unfortunately, ooze must have his next meal! He lost all of his metal weapons, armor, and gear to acid due to being grappled for several rounds by the ooze. Thank god for them this particular ooze doesn't split when hit with weapons! | |
Champion of the Lamia
www.tygrhobbes.com | |
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Korhal_IV
Sergeant
852 Posts
| | 06/04/2006 2:13 AM |
| C'mon Shoe, give us our fix!
My team just overcame the large dungeon I turned the roadblock into, and they're going to try to struggle onwards to Starsong Hill. Hope they don't get massacred by the Greenspawn Razorfiend - that'd just be unlucky. [:)] | |
I now have a Have/Want list updated with all my rares! Stop by to take a look!
Trade References: www.maxminis.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8560 | |
| DDM Australian Champion 2005
psistef
Underboss
1572 Posts
| | 06/04/2006 6:35 AM |
| Here's another call for un update.
I've had this adventure ready to go for weeks, but I can't get a night off!!
This thread is all I have until I can kick it off. | |
Champion of the Prestige Class where mages focus on telekenesis and start throwing people into the ceiling and uber stuff like that.
Desirer of a Commander Effect in CG that grants Sidestep to followers with a ranged attack. | |
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taliesin
Underboss
1113 Posts
| | 06/04/2006 2:31 PM |
| | Well, my group has finished off the Ghostlord, who really needed more hp. Not a tough fight at all. At this rate, I only have enough material for 4-5 more sessions, and I want to at least have my WotDQ cases before then (please get an aspect of tiamat please get an aspect of tiamat please get an aspect of tiamat), so I may take a brief break to let some time pass. Anyone else running into this? Or am I the only one that really wants Tiamat on the battlemat for that last fight? | |
Champion of the Entire Monster Manual 1!
(Click link to see current progress!)
Uncommon Painting Competition 2 Winner | |
| Knight of Argenis
Corim Danex
Warlord
6677 Posts
West Valley City, Utah
| | 06/04/2006 3:50 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by taliesin
Well, my group has finished off the Ghostlord, who really needed more hp.
Do you think I should maximize hp on the Ghostlord, then? | |
"Look to God and live." Alma 37:47
Vindicated Champ of Hippogriff (Arcadian Hippogriff) and Uncommon Horse | |
| Professional Fan of DDM
Shoe
Sergeant
804 Posts
| | 06/04/2006 4:36 PM |
| Let's see.. where did we leave our intrepid adventurers..? Ah yes - After defeating Varanthian, and retreating into the thornwastes to regroup, our heroes headed back into the Ghostlord's stronghold to hopefully confront the lich and give him back his phylactery, in theory convincing him to abandon his support of the Red Hand, and possibly turn against them.
With a running start, the now-flying* dragonborn paladin swooped up to the lion's maw (they never did find the secret door in varanthian's lair), and dropped the rope ladder so that the rest of the PCs could climb up.
They quickly overcame the doom fist monks in the next room, though one got away to warn Ulwai. As the PCs descended the stairs (into Ulwai's fog cloud), they could hear the sound of thunder echoing down from outside the structure.
The PCs passed on the Red Hand's chamber initially, instead choosing the door that led to the Pool of Rebirth, where they were jumped by the bonedrinkers (played by Dolgaunt Monks, Underdark) -- upon entering the room, I had the PCs make Spot checks. I used the best result to determine how far into the room the PCs got before the bonedrinkers attacked, which meant that a couple of the forward PCs were deep enough into the room to get flanked and cut off from the rest of the party.
The grouped PCs were doing ok, but the druid who had moved up past the pool was attacked by a pair of bonedrinkers, and was quickly grappled and pinned. The other PCs could only watch in horror as the druid fell behind the lion statue and they could only see her flailing legs as the undead beasties found a feast. Other than a bit of Con damage on the druid, the party was able to overcome without significant injury.
Curiously, the PCs neglected to search for secret doors anywhere along the way, and after a discussion over whether attacking the lion's heart would provoke and anger the lich, they headed back toward the only door left unopened - Ulwai's lair. (they determined that damaging the obviously evil artifact would make the lich mad, and probably prevent their mission from being successful).
With the Warforged Barbarian and Dragonborn Paladin in the group, they aren't particularly sneaky, and so the Red Hand contingent heard their approach and were ready for a fight. They weren't able to hold the door long, though, as both the warforged and the druid forced their way into the room (followed by the unseen servant closing the door again - a running theme for the next few rounds). After the party was able to put a hurting on a couple of the doom fist monks, the tide of battle shifted ever so slightly. First up, the warforged was stunned, and finally pummeled into inertness. The druid had to step back to heal herself. The dragonborn, having dealt with the summoned hell hounds quite handily, found himself in the middle of a sound burst once Ulwai decided to join the battle directly. We ended the night in the middle of the combat, with its outcome still in doubt.
*note on dragonborn flight - it isn't worth all the feats to be able to fly in heavy armor. What is it, something like 4 feats? to be able to climb 10 feet per round? By the time you're there, the wizard's already casting fly pretty easily. | |
Professional Fan of DDM | |
| Professional Fan of DDM
Shoe
Sergeant
804 Posts
| | 06/04/2006 5:30 PM |
| Update 2 of 3.
The next session, we started out with the PCs in the heat of battle. The Doom Hand Clerics, after acheiving only moderate success with the use of command and hold person, hefted their maces and moved in to smite ("your death will feed our dark queen!"). They were able to delay the PCs long enough for Ulwai to start taking charge - and between bless and haste and inspire courage, they had a reasonable enough attack/damage bonus that the PCs couldn't ignore them. Once Ulwai was out of sound bursts, she decided to end the fight once and for all, firing twice per round with her bow (via haste) and blasting thunderstrikes as fast as she could.
The warforged was already down for the count, and the wizbard fell to a crit from an arrow. The first thunderstrike took the dragonborn full in the chest, killing him outright. The lurk thought he'd be safe for a round or two after just quaffing a cure mod potion and getting near to full hp - but then Ulwai critted with her ranged touch attack, and the lurk took around 55 points of damage. Or, I should say, *couldn't* take 55 points of damage, and also died. The druid was the next target, and was also dropped, but not killed. The last PC standing was the warlock, who needed above average damage on his eldritch blast to drop Ulwai - and he got it, rolling 12 damage on 3d6 (needing at least 11).
Not quite a total party kill, but close. In lieu of deciding to get an entirely new party together, I let the PCs off the hook a bit this time:
As the warlock considered how rich he'd be if he looted his former comrades and took off to Sharn, I had the Ghostlord appear - his left hand outstreched, a number of small globes orbiting above it. Each globe bore the likeness of one of the fallen PCs or hobgoblins. As the Ghostlord demanded an explanation from the warlock, he idly sucked away one of the globes, devouring the soul it represented.
Through some quick talking, the warlock was able to negotiate the release of his comrades' souls in exchange for the phylactery. The Ghostlord also dissolved his alliance with the Red Hand. The party set off through the Thornwastes - successful, alive, but not feeling very victorious...
As you might recall, in an earlier post I indicated that I felt the PCs needed a bit more beefing up before they got to the Ghostlord's lair - and they skipped the various "in the vale" encounters by teleporting straight to the Thornwastes. Had they had a few more encounters under their belt, they would have likely survived the Ulwai encounter. At any rate, I was all set to run those encounters during their trip back, to get them the XP they needed before the defense of the town. I decided to start with a random encounter as they left the Thornwastes.
Rolling on the Thornwastes random encounter table, I generated an encounter with basilisks. Should be a relatively easy encounter, I thought, since my PCs have dealt with gaze attacks before (a TPK with a bodak during a playtest of Grasp of the Emerald Claw was the standout). I still don't think it's that tough of an encounter - especially when I made a point of asking the PCs "the orientation of your ocular organs" each round. But only the Lurk elected to close his eyes while fighting. The Druid, Warlock, and Wizbard attempted to avert their eyes, while the Dragonborn Paladin stubbornly refused and kept his eyes open the whole fight. (The Warforged's player didn't make this session)
Well, you could probably guess the outcome. The Druid was stoned after rolling a natural 1 on his second save. The Wizbard failed a save once a pair of basilisks got too close. The Paladin only needed like a 4 to make his save, but when he charged up into the mix of them, he was making 2-3 saves per round. He lasted longer than the statistical average, and was stoned in the fifth or sixth round. The Warlock and Lurk lived through it - the Warlock because he kept burning Action Points to stay alive.
I think I'm convinced that the dragonborn's player wasn't closing his eyes because he wanted to somehow prove his belief that the encounter was too tough - a sentiment I simply don't agree with. With eyes closed, the ACs of the melee-ish PCs would still be 19+, and the basilisks have really low damage output. In fact, with eyes closed, the encounter becomes an exercise in dice rolling - and probably isn't that interesting of an encounter, nor much of a threat to the fully-healed PCs.
At any rate - the sudden proliferation of PC statues meant that my plans of "through the vale" encounters was thwarted again. We narrated the surviving pair's journey back to Brindol, and they got a sense of the devastation wrought by the Red Hand. Once in the city, they were able to convince the Starsong shifters (who had recently arrived) to send a flight of owls to collect the statues while also reconnoitering the Red Hand's positions.
At the close of the session, the PCs were outfitted by the Red Gauntlet Regiment (see "the Last War" in the Player's Guide to Eberron), and prepared to launch a strike mission or two prior to the Red Hand's attack.
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Professional Fan of DDM | |
| Professional Fan of DDM
Shoe
Sergeant
804 Posts
| | 06/04/2006 6:08 PM |
| Update 3 of 3
The PCs weren't quite ready, level-wise, for the events of the attack on Brindol, so the most recent session involved a few encounters that would allow the PCs to get up to 8th level.
The wizbard bid farewell to the group (the player didn't feel the scholar-type was very effective on the front lines of a war), replaced by a single-classed evoker - a battle mage from the special forces group within the Red Gauntlet Regiment. (Yes, I can see the irony of the Red Gauntlet Regiment fighting against the Red Hand.)
The PCs were recruited for a simple strike mission. Their goal was to make a dent in the Red Hand's artillery units - which happened to also be a tribe of hill giants. They were instructed to take out a pair of giants, an any other targets of opportunity, then return back to the city.
The first part of the plan went very well. They approached an overrun village on the outskirts of Brindol, where a hill giant pair were drinking and eating in the ruins of a building (using the Field of Ruin map - the airship sections served as ruined structures). The party's initial tactics were sound, as the evoker dropped a vortex of teeth (spell compendium) on the unsuspecting giants while the warlock followed up with glitterdust from a scroll, blinding both targets.
Despite the hill giants' tremendous hit points and damage potential, the PCs overcame them fairly quickly. The fight was going so well for them that at one point the evoker was plugging away with a crossbow in lieu of wasting spells.
Another pair of giants came to investigate, and once again the PCs were able to defeat them. Though this time their strategy was a bit more suspect. The giants had split up to flank around the center of the map, and all of the party's warriors (the lurk, paladin, barbarian, and druid) moved to one giant, while the warlock and wizard were left with the other. The wizard was knocked out, and the warlock nearly so, before the rest of the party finished off their own giant and came over to help.
A chimera flew overhead at the close of this battle, but the PCs were not able to respond before it flew off to report the incursion.
After a brief discussion (and the barbarian's player leaving due to extreme exhaustion), the PCs set off to another campsite - this one in an abandoned manor house (using Keep of Fallen Kings 2). A quartet of Blood Ghost Berskers (War Drums) loitered around the first floor, and quickly engaged the PCs. The Blood Ghosts weren't too much of a problem, though, and merely occupied the time of the PCs until the Chimera returned. I elaborated on the sounds of nearby Red Hand soldiers mobilizing, indicating that the PCs had likely been discovered, and they should move quickly before getting overwhelmed.
The Chimera dropped disappointingly quickly, but then the next threat arrived - a pair of blackspawn raiders, led by an exterminator. While the raiders weren't too much of a problem, the exterminator, with his ghost step ability, was able to drop the dragonborn. A few rounds of cat-and-mouse were played as the warlock kept using scrolls of glitterdust to reveal the invisible blackspawn, and the blackspawn would retreat until the glitter wore off (3 rounds). Eventually, the lurk and warlock killed the exterminator, but not before a 4d6+4 sudden strike hit the 3-hp-remaining wizard (still not sure why he didn't drink some healing).
With the victory, the PCs revived the comrades they could, and returned to Brindol carrying the wizard's body. Through the resources of the Red Gauntlet, the wizard was raised, and the PCs (now nearly all 8th level) are preparing for the Red Hand's Assault.
Next week, the Red Hand will finally launch its attack on Brindol! | |
Professional Fan of DDM | |
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Wrackspawn
ChristopherGroves
Warlord
6093 Posts
| | Professional Fan of DDM
Shoe
Sergeant
804 Posts
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