Not sure if this is the right place to put it, but as one of the things I'm largely concerned about is challenge/XP balance/likelihood of TPKing my party, I thought it'd be good to stick here.
I'm designing an adventure for use through Maptools. It's a temporary thing, to test out my competency as a DM and a Maptools user, and also to get a peek at high-heroic/early paragon tier play, which is something I haven't seen in action yet.
The basic plot outline I'm going for is a giant dungeon crawl that will carry the group from level 9-11, or possibily 8-11 or 8-10. The party is going to the ancient ruins of Bael Turath to retrieve one MacGuffin or another. Bael Turath has since become an overgrown jungle. On the way there they encounter:
1. Gnolls and Demons: Laying siege to the ancient ruins of Bael Turath. They know about the MacGuffin (which is demon-related) and want it, too. The party has to fight through them. They also provide a significant time limit to the party. They have two weeks (give or take) before they overrun the ruins and take the MacGuffin.
2. Lizardmen: They're squatting in the ancient tiefling ruins. They are 'allies' of the party, the people who'll buy their old magic items and provide them with booze during their extended rests. As such, I don't particularly care that they are not level appropriate for a 9-11 party; they (probably) won't be fighting them. I just felt they were a flavorful choice.
3. Troglodytes: They've moved into the tombs beneath Bael Turath, where they believe they have an actual incarnation of Torog to worship.
4. Sahaugin: They moved in to enslave the trogs, but were quickly overwhelmed by what actually seems to be an incarnation of Torog.
5. Random Sprinkling of Undead and Abberrations: Any halfway decent dungeon needs 'em.
6. Torog Incarnate: Actually a Chain Devil that has duped the trogs into worshipping him. Made into a solo and used as the grand finale.
Here's my question: can I make this into a viable dungeon? Will a party of levels 9-11 steamroll a bunch of gnolls and trogs, even if I adjust their levels upward a little? How can I make sahaugin interesting when they're basically "Guard, Priest, Baron"? Can anyone suggest a level-appropriate minion to re-skin into a generic trog/sahaugin guard?
For players, does this sound like an interesting dungeon to navigate, or does it seem like too much of a monster-mash? Any suggestions of things you'd really be excited to fight at this level?
I'm just looking for a little spitballing, some workshopping of this dungeon. The main issue I'm having is the increasing disparity in level between monsters of the same 'type'. It's easy to populate a dungeon with kobolds; your adventurers will be level 1 or 2, so you can throw all six types of kobold in the MM at them and they'll handle it. But if they're level 14, you only have one type of troll to throw at them; they'll steamroll the level 9 trolls and be crushed by the level 20s.
I'm designing an adventure for use through Maptools. It's a temporary thing, to test out my competency as a DM and a Maptools user, and also to get a peek at high-heroic/early paragon tier play, which is something I haven't seen in action yet.
The basic plot outline I'm going for is a giant dungeon crawl that will carry the group from level 9-11, or possibily 8-11 or 8-10. The party is going to the ancient ruins of Bael Turath to retrieve one MacGuffin or another. Bael Turath has since become an overgrown jungle. On the way there they encounter:
1. Gnolls and Demons: Laying siege to the ancient ruins of Bael Turath. They know about the MacGuffin (which is demon-related) and want it, too. The party has to fight through them. They also provide a significant time limit to the party. They have two weeks (give or take) before they overrun the ruins and take the MacGuffin.
2. Lizardmen: They're squatting in the ancient tiefling ruins. They are 'allies' of the party, the people who'll buy their old magic items and provide them with booze during their extended rests. As such, I don't particularly care that they are not level appropriate for a 9-11 party; they (probably) won't be fighting them. I just felt they were a flavorful choice.
3. Troglodytes: They've moved into the tombs beneath Bael Turath, where they believe they have an actual incarnation of Torog to worship.
4. Sahaugin: They moved in to enslave the trogs, but were quickly overwhelmed by what actually seems to be an incarnation of Torog.
5. Random Sprinkling of Undead and Abberrations: Any halfway decent dungeon needs 'em.
6. Torog Incarnate: Actually a Chain Devil that has duped the trogs into worshipping him. Made into a solo and used as the grand finale.
Here's my question: can I make this into a viable dungeon? Will a party of levels 9-11 steamroll a bunch of gnolls and trogs, even if I adjust their levels upward a little? How can I make sahaugin interesting when they're basically "Guard, Priest, Baron"? Can anyone suggest a level-appropriate minion to re-skin into a generic trog/sahaugin guard?
For players, does this sound like an interesting dungeon to navigate, or does it seem like too much of a monster-mash? Any suggestions of things you'd really be excited to fight at this level?
I'm just looking for a little spitballing, some workshopping of this dungeon. The main issue I'm having is the increasing disparity in level between monsters of the same 'type'. It's easy to populate a dungeon with kobolds; your adventurers will be level 1 or 2, so you can throw all six types of kobold in the MM at them and they'll handle it. But if they're level 14, you only have one type of troll to throw at them; they'll steamroll the level 9 trolls and be crushed by the level 20s.
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Look for role, re-theme powers and damage type to taste. This works best with Brutes, Soldiers, and Artillery monsters. Leaders and Controllers tend to require some finesse.
