WampusCat43
Explorer
I ran my players through a 4e gauntlet the other night. 3 players taking 2 pregens apiece (a 4th player showed up later, and got the rogue). We also used a set of the beautiful power cards that were developed here on ENWorld (much thanks for that effort – they are awesome). They went up against every type of fan-created goblin I could get – minions, butcher, warchanter, bat rider, pyro, picadors, and sharpshooter.
The battle was played out using Paizo’s outstanding Market flipmat, together with the tavern tiles from their Village set. The PCs were met by a stream of refugees from the town, and could see the goblins chasing pigs and the pyro dancing across the roofs of the shacks, starting fires and taunting them.
As the group approached the town square, the ranger opened up, first nailing the bacon-chasing minion, then trying to take out the pyro from long range. He spent most of the battle dodging from bush to bush, ineffectively trying to hit the laughing goblin. He was doing this dodging because immediately after he waxed the minion, the paladin got nailed by the sharpshooter, hiding on roof of the tavern.
The party returned fire on the sniper with a variety of powers, driving it down for a couple rounds. The party spotted the butcher in the market square, ducking into one of the shacks, but paid it little mind. The bulk of the party moved up the alleyway between the square and the tavern, staying out of sight of the sniper and looking for further targets in the square.
(My plan had been for this to be two separate encounters: clean out the square, take a brief rest/recharge if needed, then assault the tavern. In retrospect, I should have kept the sniper out of it at first, as you will see).
At this point the bat rider appeared, swooping down the alley. The poor wizard was caught out in the open, stunned by the bat screech, and harpooned by the rider, all while under fire from the sniper, who had re-appeared at the end of the roof just above their heads. Think of the mess if this was an earlier edition.
The pyro continued to dance from shack to shack, doing a Gene Kelly “Singin’ in the Rain” imitation.
The dwarf finally found a minion in the square and charged it. (1st real mistake of the night – charging, while not forced to be in a straight line, only allows a single move, not double as before. Making it a double move allows the players to do ridiculous things.) The butcher made his appearance, matching the dwarf’s charge with one of his own. This put the dwarf in a flank between the chopper and the minion, painfully. That lasted all of one cleave, but another minion quickly took his place. At that point the rogue showed up, forming a four-creature conga line that also didn’t last long (sneak attack on a minion? Ewwww…). The pyro approached on the roof of the library, looking for his chance to get in the action.
Meanwhile, the intrepid halfling paladin stormed the tavern(!) in an attempt to get at the sniper, making a strength check to clear the debris the goblins had piled up in front of the doorway. He was met by 2 minions, 2 picadors, and the warchanter. No fool he (particularly after getting abused by the whole crowd), he turned tail and ran, minions in pursuit. Once out on the porch, he wheeled and dealt out our first crit of the night, making minion puree out of his first pursuer.
At about the same time, the warlock made her first contribution of the night (2nd mistake – the warlock’s attacks don’t go against AC, as the power cards say – it’s reflex or will. This made for a miserable night for that player). She gunned down the already-wounded bat, releasing the unconscious wizard and plunging the batrider to the street. She then used her power to teleport to the top of one of the shacks, intending to shoot it out with the sniper.
At this point, the dwarf and rogue appeared, having chased the pyro across the square using the amazing Supercharge™ power. After dispatching him, they ran over and assaulted the poor, prone batrider. This inspired the 2nd minion to get the hell back in the house. And so the final mopup began.
The cleric got the wizard back to his feet (once we got around the slightly-confusing healing rules), and the meatshields barged through the door, right into the teeth of the picadors and warchanter, who had been waiting for them. Much ineffectual harpooning and dazing ensued. The sniper came down from the roof and joined in the melee, which was highlighted by the rogue making an embarrassing attempt to dive into the fracas via one of the windows. He ended up in a heap on the floor. The last minion later attempted to exit through the same window, only to meet a gruesome fate.
After a few rounds it was over. Only one of the picadors escaped, and will be back next week with…well, tune in here to find out.
Overall impressions/notes:
The cleric didn’t use Lance of Faith instead of regular melee weapons, so he didn’t get many hits.
The players used their dailies (although not to much effect) and their action points (to much greater effect).
The goblins’ ACs are a little high, seems like.
The wizard was the only PC to go down.
Didn’t get time to put together a skill challenge. I was thinking along the lines of “save the librarian from her burning building while the pyro dances around on the roof”, but wasn’t able to come up with it.
I (the DM) loved it. Much simpler to run. More entertaining, mobile combat. It took about three hours for the whole thing, including sorting out the character sheets and power cards, so it was a little tiring, but that will get better with experience (and the players won't be running two characters).
I’m very encouraged going forward.
The battle was played out using Paizo’s outstanding Market flipmat, together with the tavern tiles from their Village set. The PCs were met by a stream of refugees from the town, and could see the goblins chasing pigs and the pyro dancing across the roofs of the shacks, starting fires and taunting them.
As the group approached the town square, the ranger opened up, first nailing the bacon-chasing minion, then trying to take out the pyro from long range. He spent most of the battle dodging from bush to bush, ineffectively trying to hit the laughing goblin. He was doing this dodging because immediately after he waxed the minion, the paladin got nailed by the sharpshooter, hiding on roof of the tavern.
The party returned fire on the sniper with a variety of powers, driving it down for a couple rounds. The party spotted the butcher in the market square, ducking into one of the shacks, but paid it little mind. The bulk of the party moved up the alleyway between the square and the tavern, staying out of sight of the sniper and looking for further targets in the square.
(My plan had been for this to be two separate encounters: clean out the square, take a brief rest/recharge if needed, then assault the tavern. In retrospect, I should have kept the sniper out of it at first, as you will see).
At this point the bat rider appeared, swooping down the alley. The poor wizard was caught out in the open, stunned by the bat screech, and harpooned by the rider, all while under fire from the sniper, who had re-appeared at the end of the roof just above their heads. Think of the mess if this was an earlier edition.
The pyro continued to dance from shack to shack, doing a Gene Kelly “Singin’ in the Rain” imitation.
The dwarf finally found a minion in the square and charged it. (1st real mistake of the night – charging, while not forced to be in a straight line, only allows a single move, not double as before. Making it a double move allows the players to do ridiculous things.) The butcher made his appearance, matching the dwarf’s charge with one of his own. This put the dwarf in a flank between the chopper and the minion, painfully. That lasted all of one cleave, but another minion quickly took his place. At that point the rogue showed up, forming a four-creature conga line that also didn’t last long (sneak attack on a minion? Ewwww…). The pyro approached on the roof of the library, looking for his chance to get in the action.
Meanwhile, the intrepid halfling paladin stormed the tavern(!) in an attempt to get at the sniper, making a strength check to clear the debris the goblins had piled up in front of the doorway. He was met by 2 minions, 2 picadors, and the warchanter. No fool he (particularly after getting abused by the whole crowd), he turned tail and ran, minions in pursuit. Once out on the porch, he wheeled and dealt out our first crit of the night, making minion puree out of his first pursuer.
At about the same time, the warlock made her first contribution of the night (2nd mistake – the warlock’s attacks don’t go against AC, as the power cards say – it’s reflex or will. This made for a miserable night for that player). She gunned down the already-wounded bat, releasing the unconscious wizard and plunging the batrider to the street. She then used her power to teleport to the top of one of the shacks, intending to shoot it out with the sniper.
At this point, the dwarf and rogue appeared, having chased the pyro across the square using the amazing Supercharge™ power. After dispatching him, they ran over and assaulted the poor, prone batrider. This inspired the 2nd minion to get the hell back in the house. And so the final mopup began.
The cleric got the wizard back to his feet (once we got around the slightly-confusing healing rules), and the meatshields barged through the door, right into the teeth of the picadors and warchanter, who had been waiting for them. Much ineffectual harpooning and dazing ensued. The sniper came down from the roof and joined in the melee, which was highlighted by the rogue making an embarrassing attempt to dive into the fracas via one of the windows. He ended up in a heap on the floor. The last minion later attempted to exit through the same window, only to meet a gruesome fate.
After a few rounds it was over. Only one of the picadors escaped, and will be back next week with…well, tune in here to find out.
Overall impressions/notes:
The cleric didn’t use Lance of Faith instead of regular melee weapons, so he didn’t get many hits.
The players used their dailies (although not to much effect) and their action points (to much greater effect).
The goblins’ ACs are a little high, seems like.
The wizard was the only PC to go down.
Didn’t get time to put together a skill challenge. I was thinking along the lines of “save the librarian from her burning building while the pyro dances around on the roof”, but wasn’t able to come up with it.
I (the DM) loved it. Much simpler to run. More entertaining, mobile combat. It took about three hours for the whole thing, including sorting out the character sheets and power cards, so it was a little tiring, but that will get better with experience (and the players won't be running two characters).
I’m very encouraged going forward.
