Scotley's 4e Swashbuckler OOC
- Thread starter Scotley
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Leif
Adventurer
Oh, no reason. No reason at all.What? No. It was just a miss. A frustrating, frustrating miss.
Why?
Okay, just want to mention...the Umber Hulk in the Monster Manual is a little tougher than this. AC 30 instead of 28. Has a nasty double claw grab it can use this one hasn't. +18 to hit instead of +17.
This one's a little toned down.
But the one in the book is a level 12 elite soldier. And we're level 4.
So. Kind of thinking...what were you thinking?
This one's a little toned down.
But the one in the book is a level 12 elite soldier. And we're level 4.
So. Kind of thinking...what were you thinking?
Leif
Adventurer
OOC: That's very, very disturbing -- I did NOT make those last two posts attributed to my account!! Going to change password now. Done!
Manous grimly sts his jaw and tightens his grip on his warhammer. "Flee while you can, I'll hold it off for as long as I can." And then he calls, "Sing of me in your lays!"
Manous grimly sts his jaw and tightens his grip on his warhammer. "Flee while you can, I'll hold it off for as long as I can." And then he calls, "Sing of me in your lays!"
Last edited:
Scotley
Hero
Frustrations with the current encounter
I didn't intend for the current encounter in my Swashbucklers game to be a TPK or a source of frustration. I should probably say a little about my style of DMing for the benefit of those of you who have not been playing with me for years. I should have done this up front and I apologize for that.
I tend to design living worlds where the more powerful monsters are not only spawned as the characters reach a certain level like in a video game. I use encounters that are clearly too powerful for the players on occasion. I want you to get the sense that the world is a dangerous place. When I used the Umber Hulk's power to split the group on either side I thought it would present an interesting challenge. Do you risk attacks of opportunity to slip past? Try to come up with a power that moves it back? Split up and take your chances going in opposite directions? Fight to the bitter end?
He's not quite a full MM powered version. He's a modified monster vault version. There was always a chance with some really luck rolls he could be defeated or at least chased off. It hasn't really gone that way and the situation is pretty dire for the party.
I was a little surprised nobody wanted to try a roll to get a sense of what it was and its power level, but it may well be that in its current make up nobody has the requisite skill. I need to update my list of party skills and will do so before the next encounter.
Anyway, I see an encounter like this a thread you might follow later. Perhaps at some point when you've a few more levels you'll need a place to hide something, someone or even yourselves. Perhaps the old mine still has some value if the Umber Hulk can be killed. Maybe he'll show up at some point later still baring the scars of this encounter.
It is also a bit of a test. You are on an important and secret mission for your Queen. Do you let yourself get distracted and perhaps slain rather than focus on the mission? I gather from PM's exchanged that the way I set up the encounter made it appear as if there was no choice. That was not my intention.
Hope that helps you make better sense of things. I like to toss out lots of little threads and see which one the players decide to tug on later rather than lead you around all the time. I would guess about two-thirds of the things that happen are related to the current mission and about a third are things that I toss out to see what might prove useful or interesting to the players.
Rather than prolong the unpleasantness I'm inclined to give you a little good fortune resulting in a chance to continue on together as a group without fighting further, but I would like to hear your thoughts on things. I do strive to always improve as a DM and clearly I've made a bit of a mess here that I'd like to avoid in future.
I didn't intend for the current encounter in my Swashbucklers game to be a TPK or a source of frustration. I should probably say a little about my style of DMing for the benefit of those of you who have not been playing with me for years. I should have done this up front and I apologize for that.
I tend to design living worlds where the more powerful monsters are not only spawned as the characters reach a certain level like in a video game. I use encounters that are clearly too powerful for the players on occasion. I want you to get the sense that the world is a dangerous place. When I used the Umber Hulk's power to split the group on either side I thought it would present an interesting challenge. Do you risk attacks of opportunity to slip past? Try to come up with a power that moves it back? Split up and take your chances going in opposite directions? Fight to the bitter end?
He's not quite a full MM powered version. He's a modified monster vault version. There was always a chance with some really luck rolls he could be defeated or at least chased off. It hasn't really gone that way and the situation is pretty dire for the party.
I was a little surprised nobody wanted to try a roll to get a sense of what it was and its power level, but it may well be that in its current make up nobody has the requisite skill. I need to update my list of party skills and will do so before the next encounter.
Anyway, I see an encounter like this a thread you might follow later. Perhaps at some point when you've a few more levels you'll need a place to hide something, someone or even yourselves. Perhaps the old mine still has some value if the Umber Hulk can be killed. Maybe he'll show up at some point later still baring the scars of this encounter.
It is also a bit of a test. You are on an important and secret mission for your Queen. Do you let yourself get distracted and perhaps slain rather than focus on the mission? I gather from PM's exchanged that the way I set up the encounter made it appear as if there was no choice. That was not my intention.
Hope that helps you make better sense of things. I like to toss out lots of little threads and see which one the players decide to tug on later rather than lead you around all the time. I would guess about two-thirds of the things that happen are related to the current mission and about a third are things that I toss out to see what might prove useful or interesting to the players.
Rather than prolong the unpleasantness I'm inclined to give you a little good fortune resulting in a chance to continue on together as a group without fighting further, but I would like to hear your thoughts on things. I do strive to always improve as a DM and clearly I've made a bit of a mess here that I'd like to avoid in future.
The sense I had from this, perhaps mistaken, was that there was basically one way to proceed forward on our current goal...and this monster was squarely in our paths.
That's part of what makes retreat difficult. The other part being that it seems we can't -all- retreat.
And of course, the unspoken assumption I had that stuff was planned with us in mind and etc etc...making things open-world and Skyrimmish where a random cougar can sneak attack you at any moment is fine; I just wasn't playing with that set of expectations in place.
I'm...ill at ease with 'gimmes' from GMs. But I'm willing to set that aside if everyone decides that's the best course forward.
That's part of what makes retreat difficult. The other part being that it seems we can't -all- retreat.
And of course, the unspoken assumption I had that stuff was planned with us in mind and etc etc...making things open-world and Skyrimmish where a random cougar can sneak attack you at any moment is fine; I just wasn't playing with that set of expectations in place.
I'm...ill at ease with 'gimmes' from GMs. But I'm willing to set that aside if everyone decides that's the best course forward.
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